BV  772  . W547  1923 
Wilson,  Bert,  1878-1943. 

The  Christian  and  his  money 
problems 


HARVEY  M.  SHELLEY 
PUBLISHER  AND  BOOKSELLER 
5513  Larchwood  Avenue 
Philadelphia 


4 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/christianhismoneOOwils 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND 
HIS  MONEY  PROBLEMS 


BERT  WILSON 


i 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND 
HIS  MONEY  PROBLEMS 


BY 

BERT  WILSON 

President,  Eureka  College,  Eureka, 

and  Author  of 
“dad’s  letters  on  a  world  journey,”  “in  the 

LAND  OF  THE  SALAAM,”  ETC. 


NEW 


YORK 


GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1923, 

By  George  H.  Doran  Company 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HXS  MONEY  PROBLEMS.  I 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


Dedicated  to 

THAT  GREAT  HOST  OF  CHRISTIAN  LEADERS 
WHO  HAVE  BEEN  WORKING  AND  PRAYING  THAT 
THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT  STEW¬ 
ARDSHIP  MIGHT  COMPLETELY  DOMINATE  THE 

millions  of  Christ’s  followers  of  the 

TWENTIETH  CENTURY 


PREFACE 


The  extension  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  depends 
npon  the  making  of  money.  That  is  why  God  is 
in  the  money-making  business  with  men.  He 
expects  them  to  use  their  money-making  talents 
not  simply  for  themselves,  but  for  His  glory. 
This  brings  upon  the  farmer,  the  manufacturer, 
the  banker  and  the  laborer  a  new  motive  for 
money-making,  a  nobility  and  idealism  of  purpose 
which  dignifies  and  sanctifies  every  business 
transaction. 

The  question,  “What  must  I  do  to  be  saved f” 
cannot  be  answered  without  considering  a  man’s 
dominant  purpose  in  the  making  and  spending  of 
his  money.  Sin,  confession  and  repentance,  both 
individual  and  social,  are  involved.  The  Christian 
either  consciously  or  unconsciously  decides  what 
his  major  motive  in  life  is  to  be.  If  his  major 
motive  is  preeminently  Christian,  he  will  be 
Christian  in  all  of  his  money  transactions. 

The  thesis  of  this  volume  is  that  men  should 
Christianize  all  of  the  processes  of  money¬ 
making,  money-saving  and  money-spending; 
that  the  Kingdom  of  God  should  come  not  only 
into  a  man’s  heart  and  into  the  church,  but  into 
the  everyday  realm  of  business,  which  involves 

vii 


viii  Preface 

the  acquiring,  investing  and  distribution  of 
wealth.  If  men  can  be  Christian  here,  there  is 
hope  that  some  day  the  Kingdom  of  God  will 
come  and  that  His  will  may  “be  done  on  earth’ ’ 
even  as  it  is  done  in  heaven. 


Eureka ,  III. 


B.  W. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  I:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE 
SOURCES  OF  WEALTH . 15 

Sense  of  ownership  begins  second  year  of  life.  Sources 
of  American  wealth.  Percentage  of  minerals  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  United  States.  The  Christian  and 
the  land.  Who  owns  North  America?  Who  owns 
the  United  States?  Who  owns  the  160-acre  farm? 

Title  to  Oakdene.  Man  the  steward,  not  owner. 

The  increase  of  the  land.  Who  owns  the  increase 
of  $1,000?  Can  a  farmer  make  money  alone? 

The  three  factors  of  production.  Men  are  inter¬ 
dependent.  God  expects  man  to  make  money. 
Money  is  not  tainted.  The  $1,000  is  jointly  owned. 

CHAPTER  II:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  DIVI¬ 
SION  OF  THE  INCREASE . 33 

How  shall  society  secure  its  share?  How  is  the  indi¬ 
vidual  to  retain  his  share?  The  seven  major 
needs:  Shelter;  Food  and  Clothing;  Education; 
Business;  Government;  Recreation;  Religion.  The 
rights  of  mind  and  soul.  The  Christian’s  major 
motive.  Worth  is  intrinsic.  Miser  or  Christian 
philanthropist?  The  will  to  live.  A  Christian 
major  motive  will  create  a  Christian  method  of 
distribution.  How  will  God  get  His  share? 

CHAPTER  III:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  NEW  TES¬ 
TAMENT  STEWARDSHIP . 47 

Is  tithing  a  New  Testament  Ordinance?  But  six  New 
Testament  references  to  tithing.  Statements  of 
church  historians.  Is  the  Christian  free  from 
stewardship  obligations?  Christian  obligation 
greater  than  Jewish.  New  Testament  teaching 
and  example.  What  is  the  authority  or  obligation 
for  Christian  stewardship?  Conclusion. 

ix 


X 


Contents 


CHAPTER  IV :  THE  CHRISTIAN’S  ADMINISTRA¬ 
TION  OF  THE  LORD’S  SHARE . 

Questions  and  answers.  Dickering  with  the  Lord:  A 
business  man  dickers;  A  minister  dickers;  A 
woman  dickers;  An  electrician  dickers;  A  travel¬ 
ing  man  dickers.  Dissipating  the  Lord’s  share. 
Four  suggestions  for  proper  administration. 
What  the  Lord’s  share  will  do  when  freely  given 
and  honestly  administered :  What  it  will  do  for 
the  individual;  What  it  will  do  for  his  wife; 
What  it  will  do  for  the  children;  What  it  will  do 
for  the  church. 

CHAPTER  V:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  NATIONAL 
WEALTH  AND  INCOME . 

Growth  in  national  and  per  capita  wealth  since  1850. 
Comparison  with  other  countries.  Did  the  war  in¬ 
crease  the  national  wealth?  The  cost  of  the  war. 
Largest  items  of  national  wealth.  Wealth  of 
American  farmers.  The  national  income.  Per¬ 
centages  in  the  distribution  of  the  national  in¬ 
come.  The  purchasing  power  of  the  national 
income.  Our  bill  for  American  luxuries.  Gov¬ 
ernment  tax  on  luxuries.  Responsibility  of  a 
Christian  America.  Stewardship  possibilities  of 
Protestantism.  Stewardship  possibilities  of  sepa¬ 
rate  communions.  Democracy  of  stewardship. 

CHAPTER  VI:  THE  CHRISTIAN  WHOSE  IN¬ 
COME  IS  $5,000  OR  MORE . 

The  list  of  large  incomes.  Who  are  the  men  of  large 
fortunes?  Can  big  business  and  big  business  men 
be  Christian?  The  Christian’s  motive  in  business. 
Another  angle  of  money-making.  How  much  profit 
can  the  Christian  take?  How  much  can  a 
Christian  spend  on  himself?  Are  rich  men  en¬ 
titled  to  special  privileges?  The  Lord’s  share  of 
large  incomes.  Not  a  problem  of  men’s  relation 
to  each  other.  How  much  shall  rich  men  give? 

CHAPTER  VII:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  UN¬ 
NAMED  SIN . 

Covetousness  a  covert  sin.  Bible  teachings  and  warn¬ 
ings.  New  Testament  examples  of  covetousness. 


Contents  xi 

CHAPTER  YII  [ Continued ]  page 

A  great  editorial  on  covetousness.  Temptations  of 
wealth.  A  church  member  who  became  a  pagan. 

Rich  people  need  the  ministry  of  the  church. 
Minister’s  duty  toward  covetous  men.  How  the 
minister  and  the  church  can  help.  Conclusion  of 
the  whole  matter. 

CHAPTER  VIII:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  IN¬ 
TANGIBLE  WEALTH . 141 

Examples  of  intangible  wealth.  Five  intangible  values. 

The  Christian  and  intangible  values.  Steward¬ 
ship  of  intangible  values :  Stewardship  of  personal 
influence;  Stewardship  of  time;  Stewardship  of 
habits  or  example;  Stewardship  of  service;  Stew¬ 
ardship  of  attitude;  Stewardship  of  life;  Stew¬ 
ardship  of  prayer;  Stewardship  of  the  church; 
Stewardship  of  international  relationships. 

CHAPTER  IX :  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  WIFE  155 

Who  earns  the  family  income?  Unpaid  wages  of  house¬ 
wives.  Actual  incomes  of  American  women. 
Pioneers  aided  by  their  wives.  Woman  coming 
into  her  own.  Woman’s  influence  in  the  home. 

A  plea  for  the  economic  emancipation  of  women. 
Family  expenditures  and  Christian  stewardship. 
Family  administration  of  the  Lord’s  share.  Re¬ 
sponsibility  of  women  in  teaching  stewardship. 

CHAPTER  X :  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  CHIL¬ 
DREN  . 171 

Duty  of  American  education.  Education  should  embody 
Christian  ideals.  Education  for  Christian  leader¬ 
ship.  Children  and  habits  of  saving.  How  money 
grows,  with  interest  compounded  semi-annually. 
Children  and  the  family  budget.  Children  and  the 
Christian  concept  of  money.  Was  the  Prodigal 
Son  wholly  to  blame?  Personal  responsibility  of 
parents.  Home  failures.  Stewardship  of  the 
spare  time  of  children.  Children  and  stewardship. 

The  church  and  the  children.  Children  and  the 
“best”  gifts. 


Xll 


Contents 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  XI:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  WILL  189 

The  importance  of  the  will.  Will-making  an  ancient 
custom.  Making  a  Christian  will.  Legal  points 
and  suggestions  about  wills.  Wives  should  be 
consulted  and  provided  for.  The  dangers  of 
leaving  great  wealth  to  children.  Living  after 
death.  To  what  Christian  organizations  should 
money  be  left?  Freak  wills  should  be  avoided. 

Other  methods  of  leaving  money :  Life  insurance 
bequests ;  Annuity  bonds ;  Trust  Estates.  A 
brightening  horizon. 

CHAPTER  XII:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS 
CHURCH’S  FINANCIAL  METHODS  ....  213 

The  Every-member  Canvass:  What  it  is;  Its  advantages 
over  the  old,  haphazard  methods  of  church  finance. 

An  alphabet  of  successful  Every-member  Canvass 
plans  and  suggestions:  Advance  preparation; 
Pudgets,  local  and  missionary;  Canvassers  and 
church  informed;  Do  the  job  in  one  day;  Every 
member  canvassed  for  a  weekly  pledge;  Follow¬ 
up  and  check-up  missing  members ;  Get  the  pledge 
paid  every  week;  Hitch  up  tithing  to  the  Every- 
member  Canvass;  Interest  the  Sunday-school; 
Justify  enlarging  missionary  budgets;  Feep  on 
the  lookout  for  something  new;  “Lift  up  your 
eyes  and  look”;  Missionary  education;  Ne w  mem¬ 
bers  and  non-givers  solicited;  Observe  special 
days  for  education;  Prepare  for  next  year;  Quar¬ 
terly  remittances  of  the  missionary  budget;  Re¬ 
port  results  regularly;  Systematize  stewardship 
teaching;  Tabulate  tithers’  records;  Unify  the 
whole  program;  Fitalize  and  visualize;  Work; 
Xerxes  sat  high  on  his  throne  and  wept  at  the 
shortness  of  human  life;  Yearly  canvass  neces¬ 
sary;  Zealous  for  the  glory  of  Zion. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


235 


Chapter  I:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE 
SOURCES  OF  WEALTH 


“In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth.” 

Genesis  1:1 . 

“And  the  land  shall  not  be  sold  in  perpetuity;  for  the  land 
is  mine:  for  ye  are  strangers  and  sojourners  with  me.” 

Leviticus  25 : 23. 


“The  earth  is  Jehovah’s,  and  the  fullness  thereof;  the  world 
and  they  that  dwell  therein.” 


Psalms  24: 1. 


“For  every  beast  of  the  forest  is  mine,  and  the  cattle  upon 
a  thousand  hills.  I  know  all  the  birds  of  the  mountains;  and 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  field  are  mine.  If  I  were  hungry,  I 
would  not  tell  thee;  for  the  world  is  mine  and  the  fullness 
thereof.” 

Psalms  50 : 10-12. 


“The  silver  is  mine,  and  the  gold  is  mine,  saith  Jehovah  of 
hosts.” 


Haggai  2:8. 


“If  ye  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  keep  my  commandments, 
and  do  them;  then  I  will  give  you  rains  in  their  season,  and 
the  land  shall  yield  its  increase,  and  the  trees  of  the  field  shall 
yield  their  fruit.” 

Leviticus  26:3-4. 


“.  .  .  a  living  God,  who  made  the  heaven  and  the  earth  and 
the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is ;  who  in  the  generations  gone  by 
suffered  all  the  nations  to  walk  in  their  own  ways.  And  yet  he 
left  not  himself  without  witness,  in  that  he  did  good  and  gave 
you  from  heaven  rains  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling  your  hearts 
with  food  and  gladness.” 

Acts  14:15-17. 

“For  Jehovah  thy  God  bringeth  thee  unto  a  good  land,  a 
land  of  brooks  of  water,  of  fountains  and  springs,  flowing 
forth  in  valleys  and  hills;  a  land  of  wheat  and  barley,  and 
vines  and  fig-trees  and  pomegranates;  a  land  of  olive-trees 
and  honey;  a  land  wherein  thou  shalt  eat  bread  without 
scarceness,  thou  shalt  not  lack  anything  in  it;  a  land  whose 
stones  are  iron,  and  out  of  whose  hills  thou  mayest  dig  copper. 
And  thou  shalt  eat  and  be  full,  and  thou  shalt  bless  Jehovah 
thy  God  for  the  good  land  which  he  hath  given  thee.” 

Deuteronomy  8:7-10. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND 
HIS  MONEY  PROBLEMS 


Chapter  I 

THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  SOURCES  OF  WEALTH 

PROFESSOR  JAMES,  the  noted  psycholo¬ 
gist,  says:  “The  sense  of  ownership 
begins  in  the  second  year  of  life.  Among  the 
first  words  which  an  infant  learns  to  utter  are 
‘My’  and  ‘Mine/  ”  The  object  may  not  be  his, 
but  he  grasps  it  and  claims  it  as  his  own.  Every¬ 
thing  he  can  lay  his  tiny  hands  on  is  his  property. 

Our  modern  world  is  still  in  its  infancy  re¬ 
garding  property.  The  race  is  like  the  child;  if 
it  can  secure  possession,  it  says:  “The  thing  is 
mine.,,  It  is  eagerly  reaching  out  after  wealth, 
like  a  child  reaching  for  a  bright  toy. 

What  priceless  possessions  are  within  the 
grasp  of  the  American  people !  A  trip  across  the 
continent  will  help  one  to  comprehend  and  visual¬ 
ize  the  natural  wealth  of  this  favored  land.  Over 
our  western  plains  are  scattered  great  herds  of 
cattle,  sheep,  horses,  mules,  and  hogs.  The 
Rocky  Mountains — what  mighty  wealth  has  God 

placed  in  these,  His  storehouses!  Silver,  gold, 

15 


16  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

copper,  iron,  coal,  zinc,  lead — mineral  wealth, 
almost  beyond  human  comprehension!  On  these 
mountain  sides  great  forests  with  their  wealth 
of  lumber!  Stored  also  under  these  mountains, 
and  the  plains  both  east  and  west  of  them,  vast 
lakes  of  oil  and  gas !  In  the  air  above  are  stored 
the  forces  of  electricity  so  valuable  that  our 
modem  civilization  could  no  longer  survive  with¬ 
out  it!  Wealth  in  the  earth,  above  the  earth,  be¬ 
neath  the  earth!  Wealth  which  would  make 
Croesus  stagger!  How  good  God  has  been  to 
His  children!  And  the  surprising  thing  about  it 
all  is  this:  that  most  of  it  has  been  discovered 
in  the  last  one  'hundred  years,  in  fact,  much  of 
it  in  the  last  twenty-five  or  fifty  years.  It  would 
seem  that  God  was  keeping  it  stored  up  until 
He  could  raise  up  a  race  of  Christians  into  whose 
care  it  could  be  safely  entrusted. 

The  United  States  has  only  six  per  cent  of  the 
population  of  the  world,  and  only  seven  per  cent 
of  the  land,  and  yet  we  produce : 

20  per  cent  of  the  world's  gold. 

25  per  cent  of  the  world's  wheat. 

40  per  cent  of  the  world's  iron. 

40  per  cent  of  the  world's  lead. 

40  per  cent  of  the  world's  silver. 

50  per  cent  of  the  world’s  zinc. 

52  per  cent  of  the  world's  coal. 

60  per  cent  of  the  world's  cotton. 

60  per  cent  of  the  world’s  copper. 

60  per  cent  of  the  world's  aluminum. 

66  per  cent  of  the  world's  oil. 

75  per  cent  of  the  world’s  corn. 

85  per  cent  of  the  world's  automobiles. 


The  Christian  and  the  Sources  of  Wealth  17 

We  also  refine  80  per  cent  of  the  copper  and 
operate  40  per  cent  of  the  world’s  railroads.  We 
now  hold  the  largest  gold  reserves  of  any  nation 
in  the  world.  And  man  is  saying  of  all  this  vast 
wealth:  “It  is  mine.” 

It  seems  necessary,  therefore,  to  start  this 
volume  with  a  study  of  the  sources  of  wealth. 
The  Christian  will  not  desire  to  set  up  the  claim 
of  ownership  of  property  to  which  he  is  not  justly 
entitled.  Let  us  consider  first,  then: 

The  Christian  cmd  the  land.  “In  the  beginning, 
God  created  the  Leavens  and  the  earth.”  Now, 
to  whom  did  the  earth  belong  after  it  was 
created?  The  reader’s  reply  is  that  it  belonged 
to  God — God  the  creator,  therefore  God  the 
owner.  This  would  seem  to  establish  from  the 
beginning  the  question  of  the  ownership  of  the 
land. 

“And  God  created  man.”  To  whom  did  the 
earth  belong  after  man  was  created?  A  Missouri 
farmer  once  replied:  “It  "belonged  to  the  man.” 
But  the  average  reader  will  still  insist  that  it 
belonged  to  God.  God  said  to  the  man:  “Re¬ 
plenish  the  earth  and  subdue  it,  and  have 
dominion.  ...”  Man’s  relationship  to  the  land 
here  is  clear  and  definite.  He  is  to  subdue  and 
have  dominion  or  possession.  By  his  genius,  he 
is  to  make  the  earth  contribute  to  his  every  need. 
He  is  not  only  to  have  dominion  over  the  land 
itself,  but  over  other  created  things.  But  there 
is  no  suggestion  that  the  man  is  ever  to  have 


18  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

ownership  of  the  land.  God  said:  ‘ ‘  The  land  is 
mine.”  The  history  of  the  childhood  of  the  race 
clearly  indicates  that  this  point  was  understood 
and  acknowledged. 

Who  owns  North  America ?  Now,  the  earth  has 
two  hemispheres — the  eastern  and  the  western. 
To  whom  did  the  western  hemisphere  belong! 
To  whom  did  North  America  belong!  The  earliest 
history  of  North  America  is  the  record  of  the 
American  Indian.  No  one  knows  where  he  came 
from.  His  earliest  history  *is  shrouded  in  mys¬ 
tery.  Later,  the  white  man  came  and  began  his 
program  of  expansion  and  dominion.  To  whom 
did  North  America  then  belong,  to  the  Indian  or 
to  the  white  man  or  to  God!  The  reader  will 
answer  that  if  it  belonged  to  God  in  the  begin¬ 
ning,  it  still  belonged  to  God. 

In  the  early  and  numerous  conflicts  between 
the  two  races,  both  the  Indian  and  the  white  man 
secured  the  rights  of  possession  to  certain  areas 
of  land  by  might.  If  the  Indian  was  the  stronger, 
he  kept  the  land;  if  not,  the  white  man  secured 
possession.  Later,  out  of  the  social  and  political 
processes,  plans  emerged  by  which  tribes  and 
individuals  were  to  have  possession  by  common 
agreement.  After  the  establishment  of  organized 
government,  both  groups  and  individuals  received 
the  right  of  possession  from  the  government. 

Who  owns  the  United  States ?  Thus  out  of 
North  America  came  the  United  States,  and  the 
United  States  belonged  to  God.  Then  it  was 


The  Christian  and  the  Sources  of  Wealth  19 

divided  by  arbitrary  boundary  lines  into  states, 
and  the  state  belonged  to  God.  The  state  was 
again  subdivided  into  counties  and  townships,  all 
of  which  belonged  to  God.  The  township  was 
divided  into  160-acre  farms. 

Now,  to  whom  does  the  farm  belong?  The  man 
on  the  farm  replies:  “Of  course,  the  earth  be¬ 
longs  to  God,  but  this  farm  belongs  to  me.  I 
bought  it  from  the  government  for  $1.25  an  acre. 
I  paid  good  money  for  it.  I  have  worked  hard 
in  breaking  it  up  and  building  upon  it  a  home 
for  my  family;  therefore,  the  farm  is  mine.” 

Who  owns  the  farm?  Here  the  discussion 
passes  from  the  general  to  the  individual.  God 
created  the  farm.  Society,  through  government, 
gave  the  individual  the  privilege  of  possession. 
Yet  the  minute  the  man  gets  the  legal  papers  giv¬ 
ing  him  possession,  he  at  once  sets  up  the  claim  of 
sole  ownership.  He  maintains  that  the  right  of 
possession  includes  the  right  of  ownership,  or, 
as  the  old  slogan  used  to  state  it,  “Possession  is 
nine  points  of  the  law.” 

Individualism  thus  arrays  itself  against  the 
Creator  and  against  society.  But  these  claims 
of  the  individual  cannot  be  permanently  main¬ 
tained.  Organized  society,  through  government, 
granted  him  possession,  but  in  times  of  war,  or 
in  behalf  of  the  “eminent  domain,”  or  for  other 
causes,  it  may  reclaim  the  farm  and  there  is  no 
appeal.  In  tracing  back  the  title  to  his  land,  the 
individual  can  get  no  further  than  to  the  records 


20  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

of  the  government  which  gave  him  control.  And 
back  of  the  claims  of  the  government  is  the  claim 
of  the  Creator.  The  logical  conclusion  is  that 
even  the  160-acre  farm  belongs  to  God. 

Title  to  Oakdene.  “Are  the  lawyers  still 
searching  for  a  clear  title  to  Oakdene!”  asked 
John  Kendricks  of  his  friend. 

“Yes,”  responded  Alwood  DeCoster.  “They 
are  still  at  it;  they  have  traced  the  title  back  to 
Lord  Mayor  Woodroffs,  of  England,  who,  in  1660, 
took  out  a  claim,  but  there  is  a  prior  claim  it 
seems,  and  I  tell  my  wife  that  I  should  not  be 
surprised  to  see  Adam’s  name  appearing  on  the 
title  deed.” 

“And  even  then,”  said  Mr.  Kendricks,  “the 
title  will  not  be  clear.  There  is  a  prior  claim.” 

“Why,  I  thought  Adam  was  supposed  to  have 
been  the  first  man  on  this  terrestial  ball!”  ex¬ 
claimed  DeCoster,  in  surprise. 

“If  we  trace  the  title  deeds  of  all  estates  to 
their  origin,  we  shall  find  in  the  most  ancient  of 
all  land  records  this  entry,  ‘In  the  beginning  GOD 
created  the  heaven  and  the  earth,’  and  across 
every  title  deed  that  has  ever  been  executed  is 
God’s  signature.  ‘The  earth  is  the  Lord’s  and 
the  fulness  thereof,  the  world  and  they  that  dwell 
therein,’  ”  said  Kendricks. 

“Then,  if  God’s  signature  is  upon  all  property, 
may  I  ask  where  man’s  claim  comes  in!”  asked 
DeCoster. 

“We  are  at  best  but  His  tenants,  and  if  we  do 


The  Christian  and  the  Sources  of  Wealth  21 

not  recognize  His  ownership,  we  are  but  squat¬ 
ters/  ’  answered  Kendricks. 

‘‘This  is  an  entirely  new  view  to  me  of  the 
ownership  of  property,”  said  DeCoster  thought¬ 
fully,  as  he  bade  his  friend  good-by. 

Man  the  steward ,  not  the  owner .  Man  is  the 
tenant  or  steward,  but  God  is  the  owner.  “The 
earth  is  the  Lord’s  and  the  fulness  thereof.” 
“The  silver  is  mine  and  the  gold  is  mine.”  Thus 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  starting  point  in  this  dis¬ 
cussion  is  the  question  of  ownership.  If  the 
Christian  will  acknowledge  that  God  owns  the 
land  upon  which  he  lives  and  labors,  and  that  he 
is  simply  a  steward  in  possession,  it  will  go  a 
long  way  toward  solving  the  whole  problem  of 
Christian  stewardship. 

The  increase  of  the  land .  After  establishing 
the  point  of  the  ownership  of  the  land,  we  next 
consider  the  question  of  the  increase.  An  average 
man  on  an  average  farm  can  make  it  produce  an 
annual  increase.  Now,  let  us  suppose  the  indi¬ 
vidual  Christian,  at  work  on  God’s  farm,  pro¬ 
duces  a  net  increase  which,  measured  by  our 
present  standards  of  value,  is  worth  $1,000.  To 
whom  does  the  $1,000  belong,  to  the  man  or  to 
God?  An  Iowa  farmer  once  said:  “I  am  willing 
to  concede  that  the  farm  belongs  to  God.  God 
made  my  farm,  but  I  made  my  money.  I  digged 
it  out  of  the  soil  with  my  own  hands.  ’  ’ 

Who  owns  the  $ 1,000 ?  With  perfect  frankness, 
we  must  admit  that  there  is  a  clear  difference 


22  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

between  the  farm  and  the  $1,000  which  was  made 
off  of  the  farm.  God  made  the  farm  without  the 
help  of  man,  but  God  did  not  make  the  $1,000. 
The  individual  is  right,  therefore,  in  his  conten¬ 
tion  that  there  is  a  distinction  between  the  owner¬ 
ship  of  the  land  and  the  ownership  of  the  money. 
But  he  argues :  “I  made  the  money  alone.  What 
I  make  with  my  own  hands  is  mine.  Since  it  is 
mine,  I  can  do  with  it  as  I  please.’ ’  If  this  state¬ 
ment  is  correct,  that  he  made  the  money  alone, 
then  he  need  not  consider  any  one  else  in  relation¬ 
ship  to  it. 

Can  a  farmer  make  money  alone ?  Did  he  make 
it  by  himself!  Can  any  individual  alone  make 
$1,000!  A  consideration  of  the  processes  of 
money-making  will  show  that  he  cannot.  Robin¬ 
son  Crusoe  on  his  lonely  island  could  not  have 
made  $1,000  in  a  thousand  years.  Money-making, 
therefore,  goes  back  to  the  question  of  the  factors 
in  production.  There  are  three  factors — God,  the 
individual,  and  the  individual’s  neighbors,  whom 
we  shall  call  society.  It  takes  all  of  these  factors 
to  produce  a  single  dollar,  or  a  thousand  dollars, 
or  a  million  dollars.  Note  the  part  that  each 
must  play  in  the  production : 

1.  God  furnishes  the  material .  He  furnishes 
the  land.  He  produced  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
the  sunshine  and  the  rain,  the  rotation  of  the 
seasons,  the  mineral  wealth,  the  vegetable  and 
animal  life.  No  man,  therefore,  should  reckon  his 
wealth  without  recognizing  the  part  God  has 


The  Christian  and  the  Sources  of  Wealth  23 

played  in  its  production.  “It  is  He  that  giveth 
thee  power  to  get  wealth.’ ’ 

2.  The  individual  is  an  indispensable  factor . 
He  plants  and  cultivates  the  crop.  He  digs  the 
ore  from  the  mines.  He  bores  for  gas  and  oil. 
He  discovers  electricity.  He  harnesses  the  power 
of  steam.  He  makes  his  definite  and  necessary 
contribution.  Without  him,  the  process  would  be 
impossible. 

3.  But  God  and  the  individual  cannot  produce 
wealth  without  the  cooperation  of  society.  How 
did  the  farmer  get  his  $1,0001  Did  he  secure  it 
from  the  production  of  wheat?  Very  well;  the 
first  thing  he  did  was  to  plow  the  ground — with 
a  plow  made  by  somebody  else.  Society  made  his 
harrow,  and  furnished  him  with  the  drill  with 
which  to  plant  the  grain.  It  was  cut  by  a  binder 
made  by  society.  Society  built  the  threshing 
machine,  the  wagon  or  the  truck  with  which  he 
hauled  it  to  market,  the  railroad  that  carried  it 
to  the  mill,  and  the  grocery  store  which  put  it  on 
the  market ;  and  society  eats  the  bread  made  from 
the  flour,  thus  creating  a  market  for  the  grain.  It 
takes  all  of  these  processes  before  any  farmer  can 
secure  $1,000  from  the  production  of  wheat. 
Hence  the  farmer  is  not  independent.  He  does 
not  produce  his  income  alone.  He  has  the 
cooperation  of  his  neighbors  and  his  God. 

How  do  other  men  make  money ?  But,  some 
reader  will  say,  “I  am  not  a  farmer,  therefore, 
the  above  does  not  apply  to  me.”  Is  he  a  grain 


24  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

buyer?  He  can  make  his  wealth  only  through 
the  cooperation  of  society.  Society  built  his  ele¬ 
vator  and  the  railroad  over  which  his  grain  is 
carried  to  the  world  markets.  A  Kansas  grain 
buyer  had  12,000  bushels  of  wheat  in  his  elevators 
when  the  world  war  broke  out.  It  cost  him  $1.00 
a  bushel.  In  two  weeks  ’  time,  the  price  jumped 
to  $1.50  and  he  cleared  $6,000.  The  sudden  move¬ 
ments  of  society  added  $6,000  to  the  wealth  in  his 
possession.  Did  he  make  it? 

The  owner  of  the  railroad  is  dependent  upon 
society  and  God  for  his  wealth.  If  his  road  is 
in  a  thickly  populated  and  rich  country  with  no 
competition,  his  profits  are  large.  If  society  is 
scattered,  or  builds  competing  lines,  his  road  may 
go  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  Neither  the 
farmer  nor  the  grain  buyer  nor  the  railroad 
owner  can  live  unto  himself  or  make  money  “unto 
himself  alone,’ ’  and  the  same  thing  applies  to 
every  other  vocation  of  life.  The  physician,  the 
teacher,  the  minister,  the  poet,  the  inventor, 
the  missionary,  the  explorer,  the  banker,  the 
mechanic,  the  laborer,  each  makes  money  only 
with  the  cooperation  of  his  neighbors.  Life  is  so 
complex  that  we  are  dependent  upon  each  other 
for  our  daily  necessaries.  The  prayer,  “Give  us 
this  day  our  daily  bread,”  is  not  only  a  prayer 
to  Deity,  but  it  is  also  a  prayer  to  society. 

Mennare  interdependent.  For  even  one  day’s 
sustenance,  we  call  upon  the  resources  of  the 
world.  Our  morning  cup  of  coffee  comes  from 


The  Christian  and  the  Sources  of  Wealth  25 

Brazil;  our  pepper  from  the  East  Indies;  our 
grape  fruit  or  orange  from  Florida  or  California ; 
our  sugar  from  Cuba;  our  clothing  of  cotton  or 
wool  from  the  South  or  the  West.  Perhaps  ten 
different  states  contribute  to  our  noon-day  lunch ; 
and  at  night  we  return  to  our  homes  which  a  thou¬ 
sand  different  industrial  and  social  processes 
have  helped  to  produce. 

A.  McLean,  in  his  “The  Primacy  of  the  Mis¬ 
sionary/ ?  tells  of  an  Englishman  who  gives  a 
humorous  description  of  his  dependence  upon 
America.  “He  rises  in  the  morning,  from  his 
New  England  sheets,  shaves  with  Williams  ’  soap 
and  a  Yankee  safety  razor,  pulls  his  Boston  boots 
over  socks  from  North  Carolina,  fastens  his 
Connecticut  suspenders,  slips  his  Waltham  watch 
into  his  pocket,  and  sits  down  to  breakfast.  He 
eats  Quaker  oats,  canned  oysters  from  Baltimore, 
Kansas  City  bacon  or  Chicago  ox-tongue,  bread 
from  prairie  flour.  At  the  same  time  he  reads  his 
paper  printed  on  an  American  press,  on  Ameri¬ 
can  paper,  with  American  ink,  and  perhaps  edited 
by  some  wide-awake  American.  He  rides  on  an 
American  electric  car  to  the  city.  He  sits  down 
to  a  desk  made  in  Michigan  and  on  a  chair  made 
in  Nebraska;  his  typewriter  is  from  Syracuse,  his 
fountain-pen  from  New  York,  his  blotting-paper 
from  New  England,  and  his  letter  file  from  Grand 
Rapids.  For  luncheon,  he  has  some  western 
beef,  Pittsburgh  pickles  and  Delaware  peaches. 
He  finds  relaxation  at  night  in  the  latest  Amen- 


26  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

can  comedy,  and  finishes  the  day  with  a  couple  of 
little  liver  pills  made  in  America.’ ’ 

God  expects  men  to  make  money.  God  expects 
men  to  have  wealth.  He  has  put  wealth  at  their 
disposal.  He  does  not  count  it  wrong  to  make 
money.  It  is  not  wrong  to  be  in  business,  even 
in  big  business.  God  has  stored  up  for  the  use 
of  man  vast  treasures  of  mineral  and  other 
physical  wealth.  But  the  race  must  dig  for  it, 
and  by  the  different  industrial  and  commercial 
processes,  mold  it  into  products  of  usefulness. 
This  is  business  in  its  many  varieties  and  forms. 
Men  could  not  exist  without  it.  Their  communi¬ 
cations  with  each  other,  local,  national,  and  inter¬ 
national,  and  their  ability  to  help  each  other  de¬ 
pend  absolutely  upon  it. 

This  means  that  the  extension  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  depends  upon  the  making  of  money.  That 
is  why  God  is  in  the  money-making  business  with 
men.  He  expects  them  to  use  their  money-making 
talents  not  simply  for  themselves,  but  for  His 
glory.  This  brings  upon  the  farmer,  the  manu¬ 
facturer,  the  banker,  the  laborer,  a  new  motive 
for  money-making,  a  nobility  and  idealism  of 
purpose  which  dignifies  and  sanctifies  every  busi¬ 
ness  transaction. 

Samuel  Z.  Batten  said :  i  1  The  mechanic  may  be 
as  necessary  to  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  as  the  preacher,  and  the  merchant  may  yet 
play  as  important  a  part  as  the  missionary.” 
This  statement  may  be  considered  essentially 


The  Christian  and  the  Sources  of  Wealth  27 

true,  if  the  mechanic  and  the  merchant  have  the 
same  spirit  and  ideals  expressed  by  William 
Carey  when  he  said  that  his  chief  business  was 
to  help  extend  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  that  he 
was  cobbling  shoes  merely  to  pay  expenses.  If 
the  major  motive  of  the  mechanic,  the  merchant, 
the  banker,  the  farmer,  the  teacher,  the  railroad 
builder,  the  manufacturer,  the  miner,  or  the  day 
laborer,  is  to  extend  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and 
their  talents  are  being  used  to  that  end,  then  they 
are  as  much  called  of  God  and  as  divinely  ap¬ 
pointed  of  Him  as  is  the  minister  or  the  mis¬ 
sionary. 

“ Golden  Rule”  Arthur  Nash  says:  “It  was 
a  revelation  to  me  to  find  how  much  the  Great 
Teacher,  the  Founder  of  Christianity,  as  well  as 
all  the  prophets,  had  stressed  the  gospel  of  social 
and  economic  righteousness.  Previous  to  this 
time,  like  millions  of  others,  I  had  regarded  the 
Golden  Rule  as  a  beautiful  expression  of  imprac¬ 
ticable  idealism;  as  something  to  be  admired  but 
never  attained.  After  we  put  this  divine  law 
into  operation  in  our  factory,  I  had  a  feeling  that 
there  was  something  sacred  about  our  plant  every 
time  I  entered  it.  Now  I  know  this  is  true.  I 
realize  that  we  have  evoked  the  highest  law  of 
God’s  universe.” 

Money  is  not  tainted .  Some  kinds  of  business 
enterprises  are  hurtful,  that  is,  they  supply 
products  which  do  not  contribute  to  the  real  needs 
or  comforts  of  society.  They  supply  artificial 


28  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

wants  or  miscalled  recreations.  A  Christian 
business  concern  should  he  judged  as  to  whether 
or  not  it  really  ministers  to  the  needs  of  society. 
But  money  is  not  tainted.  Men  may  become 
tainted  in  making  it  or  in  using  it.  Money  is  not 
dirty.  Men  may  crawl  through  the  slime  in  secur¬ 
ing  it,  or  soil  their  hands  in  dispensing  it,  but 
that  does  not  change  the  character  of  the  money. 
The  money  remains  the  same.  The  same  $100  bill 
that  is  won  by  the  gambler  on  Thursday  may  be 
used  to  pay  the  grocer  on  Friday,  the  banker  on 
Saturday,  and  the  minister  on  Sunday.  Money 
may  leave  its  mark  upon  the  man,  but  the  man 
cannot  leave  his  mark  upon  the  money. 

The  $1,000  is  jointly  owned.  We  come  back 
now  to  the  question  of  the  ownership  of  the 
$1,000.  Whether  it  be  produced  by  farmer,  grain 
buyer,  doctor,  miner,  minister,  teacher,  merchant, 
mechanic  or  laborer — to  whom  does  it  belong? 
Surely  there  is  no  one  who  will  now  urge  that  the 
individual  has  the  sole  claim.  We  have  seen  that 
three  factors  have  helped  to  produce  the  money 
— God,  the  individual  and  society;  that  it  was 
a  cooperative  process.  Paul  says :  ‘  ‘  For  we  are 
laborers  together  with  God.”  The  Revised  Ver¬ 
sion  puts  it:  “For  we  are  God’s  fellow- workers.” 
It  was  a  joint  production,  therefore,  is  it  not  a 
joint  ownership?  To  be  sure,  the  individual 
comes  into  possession  of  the  money  as  he  does 
in  the  case  of  the  land,  but  he  does  not  own  it  all. 
He  is  a  steward  who  must  be  held  accountable 


The  Christian  and  the  Sources  of  Wealth  29 

both  by  his  Lord  and  by  his  neighbors  to  admin¬ 
ister  the  money  which  comes  into  his  hands. 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  I 

1.  Name  some  of  the  kinds  of  stored-up  wealth  God  has 
placed  in  the  earth  for  man’s  use.  Name  the  percentage  of 
each  produced  by  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

2.  How  do  individuals  get  possession  of  land?  Is  it  owner¬ 
ship  or  possession?  Discuss  the  illustration,  “Title  to 
Oakdene.” 

3.  Quote  the  Scriptures  which  teach  God’s  ownership  of  the 
earth  and  the  wealth. 

4.  Explain  the  difference  between  ownership  of  the  farm 
and  ownership  of  the  increase. 

5.  Name  and  discuss  the  three  factors  in  the  production  of 
wealth. 

6.  State  why  God  expects  men  to  make  money. 

7.  Is  it  practical  or  possible  to  use  the  “Golden  Rule”  in 
business?  Give  an  example  that  has  come  under  your  own 
observation. 

8.  Do  you  agree  with  the  position  that  money  is  not  tainted  ? 
Why,  or  why  not? 

9.  To  whom  is  man  accountable  for  the  distribution  of 
wealth  ? 

10.  Do  you  personally  accept  the  conclusions  reached  in 
this  chapter?  Are  you  willing  to  be  guided  by  them  as  life 
principles  ? 


Chapter  II:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  DIVI¬ 
SION  OF  THE  INCREASE 


“And  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  in  the  image  of 
God  created  he  him;  male  and  female  created  he  them.  And 
God  blessed  them;  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful,  and 
multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it;  and  have 
dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  birds  of  the 
heavens,  and  over  every  living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the 
earth.” 


Genesis  1 : 27-28. 


“At  the  end  of  every  three  years  thou  shalt  bring  forth  all 
the  tithe  of  thine  increase  in  the  same  year  and  shall  lay  it 
up  within  thy  gates.” 

Deuteronomy  14:28. 


“Honor  Jehovah  with  thy  substance,  and  with  the  first- 
fruits  of  all  thine  increase.” 


Proverbs  3:9. 


“Woe  unto  him  that  buildeth  his  house  by  unrighteousness, 
and  his  chambers  by  injustice;  that  useth  his  neighbor’s  service 
without  wages,  and  giveth  him  not  his  hire.” 

Jeremiah  22:13. 


“All  things  therefore  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  unto  you,  even  so  do  ye  also  unto  them:  for  this  is  the 
law  and  the  prophets.” 

Matthew  7 : 12. 


“I  planted,  Apollos  watered;  but  God  gave  the  increase. 
So  then  neither  is  he  that  planteth  anything,  neither  he  that 
watereth;  but  God  that  giveth  the  increase.” 

1  Corinthians  3:6-7. 

“For  we  are  God’s  fellow-workers;  ye  are  God’s  husbandry, 
God’s  building.” 


I  Corinthians  3:9. 


Chapter  II 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  DIVISION  OF  THE  INCREASE 

WE  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the 
production  of  money  is  a  joint  produc¬ 
tion;  that  it  is,  therefore,  jointly  owned  by  the  in¬ 
dividual,  his  neighbor,  and  his  God.  We  consider 
now  the  question  of  dividing  or  distributing  the 
increase.  The  individual  who  has  it  in  his  posses¬ 
sion  must  face  the  proposition  of  honestly  divid¬ 
ing  this  money  among  those  who  produced  it. 
How  then  shall  the  increase  be  divided  so  that 
each  partner  shall  have  his  proper  share  ? 

How  shall  society  secure  its  share?  Again  we 
are  forced  to  consider  a  cooperative  process  which 
shows  how  closely  our  lives  are  linked  together. 
Society  has  ordained  that  in  America  men  shall 
wear  conventional  and  decent  clothes.  So  the 
individual  with  the  $1,000  goes  to  his  clothier. 
He  is  informed  that  he  can  secure  a  suit  of  clothes 
but  that  he  must  hand  over  a  part  of  the  $1,000. 
The  individual  must  have  shoes,  food,  clothing, 
and  for  all  of  these  he  must  pay  out  a  part  of  the 
money  which  has  come  into  his  possession.  Thus 
society,  which  has  helped  him  to  make  the  money, 
is  also  helping  him  to  distribute  it.  On  every 

33 


34  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

hand  society  puts  a  tax  upon  this  $1,000,  and  the 
individual  must  pay.  He  cannot  help  himself. 
If  he  refuses  to  pay,  society  can  lay  hold  of  him 
and  put  him  in  jail.  Society  helped  him  to  make 
it,  and  by  its  inexorable  demands,  it  is  securing 
its  share. 

How  is  the  individual  to  retain  his  share?  It 
is  in  his  possession,  and  he  can  always  be  trusted 
to  provide  for  himself  and  the  needs  of  his  family. 
God  expects  him  to  do  so.  Not  to  do  so  would  he 
irreligious.  Necessity  demands  it,  and  his  every¬ 
day  necessaries,  which  must  be  obtained  from  his 
neighbors,  make  it  possible  for  him  to  administer 
to  his  own  needs  and  the  needs  of  society  with 
the  same  money. 

The  seven  major  needs .  There  are  seven  major 
needs  for  which  the  average  family  spends  its 
money.  These  are : 

1.  Shelter 

2.  Food  and  clothing 

3.  Education 

4.  Business 

5.  Government 

6.  Recreation 

7.  Religion 

Around  these  seven  items  practically  all  of 
the  activities  of  the  human  race  revolve.  With  the 
furnishing  of  these  necessities,  all  the  varied 
activities  of  life  are  concerned.  Note  the  pioneer 
farmer  who  goes  West  and  stakes  out  his  claim. 
The  first  thing  he  builds  is  a  house.  To  provide 
food  and  clothing  for  his  children,  he  will  mort- 


The  Christian  and  Division  of  Increase  35 

gage  his  farm  if  necessary.  The  next  thing  he 
"builds,  in  conjunction  with  his  neighbors,  is  a 
schoolhouse,  and  then  a  church.  His  business  is 
to  make  the  farm  produce  enough  increase  to  pay 
for  those  things  which  help  to  develop  all  of  life 
— physical,  intellectual,  and  spiritual.  His  money, 
therefore,  if  wisely  spent,  should  be  divided  pro¬ 
portionately  among  these  seven  major  needs. 

1.  Shelter .  The  members  of  the  human  family 
must  always  have  an  abiding  place.  In  civilized 
society,  they  must  either  build  a  home  or  rent 
one  of  a  neighbor.  The  family  home  is  the  unit 
of  civilization.  A  portion  of  the  wealth  or  income 
of  every  man  must  go  to  provide  a  decent  home 
for  himself  and  family. 

2.  Food  and  Clothing.  Nearly  one-half  of  the 
industry  of  America  is  engaged  in  the  production 
of  food,  clothing  and  shelter.  With  a  popula¬ 
tion  of  105,000,000,  it  takes  a  vast  organization 
of  millions  of  people  to  provide  for  their  daily 
necessities.  A  good  proportion  of  the  income 
must  be  used  to  supply  them. 

3.  Education.  The  next  consideration  in  the 
average  family  is  the  education  of  the  children. 
Education  is  a  part  of  our  national  life.  Parents 
have  not  done  their  full  duty  by  their  children 
if  they  do  not  provide  the  best  possible  educa¬ 
tional  advantages.  This,  of  course,  costs  money. 
The  extra  items  in  education,  such  as  books,  maga¬ 
zines,  travel,  etc.,  take  money.  A  generous  share 
of  the  income  should  go  to  education. 


36  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

4.  Business,  investments ,  and  savings.  Let  this 
heading  include  all  phases  of  industry  which  pro¬ 
duce  income — farming,  salaries,  banking,  manu¬ 
facturing.  Time,  energy,  and  money  must  be  in¬ 
vested  in  the  pursuits  of  business  in  order  that 
men’s  needs  may  be  supplied.  Money  must  be 
saved,  reinvested,  and  business  principles  safe¬ 
guarded  so  as  to  give  permanence  and  stability 
to  our  social  structure. 

5.  Government.  A  part  of  each  individual’s 
income  is  used  for  the  support  of  organized  gov¬ 
ernment.  Taxes  must  be  paid  for  the  support 
of  city,  county,  state  and  national  governments. 
No  man  is  loyal  to  his  nation  who  does  not  gladly 
pay  his  proportion  of  the  expenses  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  under  which  he  lives.  A  recent  study  of  the 
income  for  the  United  States  for  the  last  ten  years 
shows  that  only  about  five  per  cent  of  the  total 
income  for  each  year  is  needed  for  this  purpose. 
Thoughtful  men  will  certainly  acknowledge  that 
the  safety,  protection,  and  assistance  furnished 
is  worth  at  least  five  per  cent. 

6.  Recreation ,  Vacation,  Amusements.  The 
highest  development  of  each  individual  is  possible 
only  through  a  reasonable  amount  of  recreation 
and  amusement.  It  is  not  irreligious  to  take 
plenty  of  exercise.  Art,  music,  and  the  beauty 
of  natural  scenery  contribute  to  life’s  enrichment. 
It  is  not  shirking  duty  to  take  a  vacation  and 
keep  free  for  a  little  while  from  the  busy  grind 


The  Christian  and  Division  of  Increase  37 

of  life.  It  is  not  wasteful  to  spend  some  money 
for  these  purposes. 

7.  Religion.  Some  one  has  said  that  man  is  a 
religious  animal.  The  earliest  records  of  man  tell 
of  his  association  with,  and  worship  of,  God. 
People  in  the  most  uncivilized  states  have  their 
gods  and  worship  them.  They  spend  some  of 
their  wealth  on  religion.  But  the  Christian  gives 
from  a  higher  motive.  Making  his  gift  is  both 
an  act  of  worship  and  an  act  of  service.  His  re¬ 
ligion  is  an  expanding  religion.  His  church  is  a 
vital  factor  in  influencing  for  the  better  the 
civilization  in  which  he  lives. 

The  rights  of  mind  and  soul.  A  part  of  the 
above  list  refers  to  the  needs  of  the  body,  a  part 
to  the  needs  of  the  mind,  and  a  part  to  the  needs 
of  the  soul.  Most  of  these  needs  center  around 
the  body — shelter,  food,  clothing,  protection  by 
government,  business.  The  physical  life  must  be 
cared  for.  It  would  be  sinful  to  unnecessarily 
neglect  it.  Paul  said:  ‘ 4 Your  body  is  the  temple 
of  the  Holy  Spirit/ ’  hence  the  body  has  its  rights 
in  the  expenditure  of  money. 

The  mind  also  has  its  rights.  Man’s  mind  was 
made  to  grow.  It  has  the  capacity  for  enlarge¬ 
ment.  Man,  if  he  is  to  be  a  man,  must  not  allow 
his  mind  to  become  like  the  mind  of  an  animal. 
He  owes  it  to  his  brain  to  spend  money  on  it. 

Likewise  the  soul  has  its  rights.  The  real  thing 
about  a  man  is  his  soul.  The  man  owes  it  to  his 
soul  to  spend  some  money  on  religion,  and  the 


38  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

worship  of  God.  The  modem  man  cannot  maim 
tain  his  interest  in  religion  unless  he  puts  money 
into  it. 

The  Christian’s  major  motive .  It  is  at  this 
point  that  a  man  and  his  family  either  consciously 
or  unconsciously  decide  what  the  major  motive 
of  life  is  to  be ;  whether  a  part  of  life  or  the  whole 
of  life  is  to  have  its  normal  development.  A 
Christian  may  be  judged  by  the  decision  he  makes 
on  this  point.  It  is  not  a  theological  question.  It 
is  a  life  question.  His  whole  outlook  on  life  and 
his  attitude  towards  life  are  involved  in  his  deci¬ 
sion. 

The  average  family  seems  to  be  obsessed  with 
three  dominant  motives,  namely :  that  it  must  get 
money ;  that  money  is  to  be  spent  upon  pleasure ; 
that  what  is  not  spent  upon  pleasure  is  to  be  used 
in  making  the  future  of  their  children  as  easy  as 
possible.  Such  an  attitude  towards  life  means  the 
destruction  of  the  finest  instincts  in  the  life  of 
man. 

Another  family  makes  its  major  motive  the  edu¬ 
cation  and  spiritual  development  of  its  children. 
All  of  life’s  activities  are  centered  around  this 
dominant  purpose.  A  father  and  mother  with  an 
average  income  say:  “It  will  never  be  possible 
for  us  to  leave  much,  if  any  money  to  our  chil¬ 
dren;  but  if  we  can  give  them  a  high  school,  col¬ 
lege  and  university  education,  and  instill  into 
them  the  highest  ideals  of  fife,  we  shall  be 
satisfied.” 


The  Christian  and  Division  of  Increase  39 

Now  the  salvation  and  redemption  of  the  race 
are  involved  in  establishing  a  Christian  major 
motive,  and  in  keeping  the  major  motive  major,  in 
life’s  activities.  The  question,  “What  must  I  do 
to  be  saved?”  cannot  be  answered  without  con¬ 
sidering  a  man ’s  dominant  purpose  in  making  and 
spending  his  money.  Sin,  confession  and  repent¬ 
ance,  both  individual  and  social,  are  involved. 
The  Christian  must  make  money  and  use  money 
to  come  to  complete  self-realization;  to  develop  a 
complete  Christian  personality.  There  can  be  no 
salvation  without  Christian  personality. 

Worth  is  intrinsic .  The  big  things  in  life,  the 
things  that  society  regards  as  the  most  valuable, 
are  those  fine  qualities  of  personality;  not  the 
things  that  a  man  gathers  about  himself.  A  man’s 
real  worth  is  deposited  in  his  heart  and  soul,  not 
in  the  bank.  Some  one  expressed  it  like  this: 
“One  man  had  a  million  dollars,  and  wasn’t 
worth  a  cent;  another  man  was  worth  a  million 
dollars  and  didn’t  have  a  cent.” 

This  puts  a  new  meaning  into  that  often  miscon¬ 
strued  word,  success.  What  is  success?  When 
have  men  succeeded?  Is  a  man  successful  when 
he  has  accumulated  a  million  dollars  and  allowed 
his  mind  and  soul  to  shrivel  up  in  the  process? 
Is  such  a  man  really  securing  the  thing  he  wants  ? 
On  the  other  hand,  if  a  Christian  has  legitimately 
earned  the  million  dollars  and  has  kept  a  Christian 
attitude  towards  it,  he  will  be  a  blessing  to  his  own 
family  and  a  blessing  to  the  world. 


40  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

Miser  or  Christian  philanthropist ?  The  type 
of  a  man’s  satisfaction  in  life  is  determined  very 
largely  by  his  attitude  towards  money.  If  he 
gets  satisfaction  out  of  gathering  it,  hoarding  it, 
brooding  over  it,  loving  it,  he  becomes  a  miser. 
If  he  makes  money  his  ally,  his  servant,  if  he 
uses  it  as  a  means  towards  a  good  life,  then  he 
becomes  a  philanthropist.  There  is  no  question 
but  that  a  Christian  philanthropist  gets  more 
real  satisfaction  and  joy  out  of  life  than  does 
the  miser.  He  not  only  has  the  satisfaction  of 
feeling  that  he  has  done  his  duty,  but  he  gets 
the  commendation  and  gratitude  of  his  fellows. 
The  selfish  man,  on  the  other  hand,  is  condemned, 
despised  and  shunned.  This  hardens  his  heart 
and  congeals  his  soul. 

Silas  Marner,  the  Weaver  of  Raveloe,  had  de¬ 
veloped,  at  a  certain  stage  in  his  life,  the  desire 
to  get  gold.  When  his  day’s  work  was  over,  he 
piled  his  money  on  the  table,  counted  it,  talked  to 
it  as  if  it  were  human.  The  securing  of  gold 
became  his  dominant  passion.  It  is  said  that  he 
literally  “bathed”  his  hands  in  his  gold.  He 
had  no  interest  in  his  neighbors  except  to  get  more 
gold  from  them,  and  they  had  no  interest  in 
him.  On  the  same  night  that  some  one  stole  his 
money,  a  golden-haired,  helpless  child  crawled 
into  his  open  door,  while  he  was  out  after 
a  pail  of  water.  He  took  the  child  to  his  heart 
and  learned  to  love  it.  His  major  passion  in 
life  was  to  care  for  the  child,  and  to  spend  what 


The  Christian  and  Division  of  Increase  41 

money  he  earned  in  developing  it  into  a  fine  per¬ 
sonality.  As  he  did  so,  he  realized  that  the  child 
should  go  to  church,  that  it  needed  religion.  In 
seeking  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  child,  he  was 
surprised  to  discover  that  his  own  soul  was  grow¬ 
ing  also.  Thus  he  was  redeemed  from  the  love 
of  gold  to  the  love  of  a  living  personality.  The 
twentieth  century  man  and  woman  who  have  been 
ensnared  by  the  love  of  money,  should  give  heed 
to  this  example  and  warning. 

The  will  to  live.  The  psychologist  tells  us  that 
the  dominant  instinct  in  man  is  “the  will  to  live” ; 
that  the  central  thing  is  self-preservation.  An¬ 
other  has  put  it  this  way:  “Self-preservation  is 
Nature’s  first  law.”  In  trying  to  defend  them¬ 
selves  for  piling  up  money,  men  say:  “A  man 
has  got  to  live.”  But  no  short-sighted  policy 
of  pursuing  money  to  keep  the  body  alive,  will 
satisfy  the  real  ideals  and  purposes  of  man’s  ex¬ 
istence.  The  teaching  of  Jesus  supersedes  the 
teaching  of  the  psychologist.  He  says  that  the 
dominant  instinct  should  be  the  will  to  serve. 
The  slogan,  “Safety  First,”  is  not  found  in  the 
teachings  of  Jesus.  The  test  of  discipleship  is 
this:  “If  any  man  would  come  after  me,  let  him 
deny  himself.  ...”  That  is  the  hardest  thing  in 
the  world  to  do — to  deny  one ’s  self.  It  is  easy  to 
deny  one ’s  neighbors,  but  it  is  hard  to  deny  one ’s 
self.  “Whosoever  would  save  his  life  shall  lose 
it;  and  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  my  sake- 


42  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

shall  find  it.”  A  man’s  “will  to  live”  must  be 
coupled  with  his  Christian  desire  to  serve. 

A  Christian  major  motive  will  create  a  Chris¬ 
tian  method  of  distribution.  Now,  in  considering 
the  expenditure  of  money  on  the  seven  major 
needs  of  life,  the  Christian  must  keep  his  domi¬ 
nant  life  purpose,  his  major  motive,  ever  before 
him.  He  will  then,  as  a  matter  of  course,  want 
to  spend  money  to  develop  the  spiritual  life  of 
himself  and  family.  He  will  have  as  much  satis¬ 
faction  in  spending  money  in  Kingdom  enterprises 
as  he  has  in  spending  it  on  his  automobile. 

In  many  cases  that  which  is  a  necessity  may, 
by  excessive  expenditure,  become  a  luxury. 
Family  pride  causes  some  people  to  live  in  homes 
far  beyond  their  means.  Others  with  meager  in¬ 
comes  dress  at  times  like  millionaires.  Thus  a 
home,  or  car,  or  clothing,  all  necessaries,  may  be¬ 
come  luxuries,  and  luxurious  spending  may  easily 
become  a  sin. 

A.  E.  Cory,  in  an  article  in  the  “Missionary  Re¬ 
view  of  the  World,”  writes:  “I  was  in  a  man’s 
office  recently  and  his  face  actually  worked  with 
emotion  when  he  said:  ‘I  want  to  give;  I  long  to 
give ;  but  here  is  my  income  and  here  is  my  out¬ 
lay.’  He  said:  ‘I  have  no  defense  for  the  outlay. 
I  have  built  a  house  far  beyond  our  needs.  We 
have  entered  a  society  that  makes  its  demands 
upon  us  far  beyond  our  income,  yet  what  am  I  to 
do  ?  ’  And  with  tremendous  emotion,  he  remarked : 


The  Christian  and  Division  of  Increase  43 

‘I  would  give  anything  if  I  had  the  courage  to 
change  my  standard  of  living.  ’  ” 

There  are  multitudes  of  cases  where  families 
have  swamped  themselves  on  the  other  major 
needs,  but  never  on  religion. 

The  Christian,  then,  is  driven  back  to  consider 
a  well  balanced  program  of  dividing  the  increase. 
If  he  has  decided  that  every  phase  of  his  life  is  to 
be  normally  developed,  then  personal  desires  can 
never  be  satisfied  at  the  expense  of  religion. 
Many  business  institutions  are  highly  organized 
to  supply  the  needs  and  wants  of  the  body.  Un¬ 
less  these  institutions  succeed  in  marketing  their 
goods,  they  must  fail.  Every  magazine  advertise¬ 
ment,  highly  colored  and  artistic,  is  prepared  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  men  to  spend  money  on 
their  bodies.  The  appeals  are  well-nigh  irre¬ 
sistible.  It  is  certain,  therefore,  that  if  religion  is 
to  have  a  share  of  the  income,  if  a  part  of  it  is  to 
be  divided  with  the  Lord,  who  helped  to  make  it, 
the  individual  must  deliberately  and  definitely 
plan  for  such  division.  We  come,  then,  to 
consider  the  third  Partner  in  the  division  of 
money. 

How  will  God  get  His  share?  The  least  ad¬ 
vertised  claim  on  the  liberality  of  the  individual 
is  religion.  It  would  be  considered  undignified  to 
make  an  appeal  for  the  support  of  religion  in  the 
same  way  that  the  appeal  is  made  for  other  things. 
The  support  of  religion  is  voluntary.  It  comes  or 
should  come  out  of  the  gratitude  for  the  goodness 


44  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

of  God,  and  out  of  the  desire  to  enlarge  the  King¬ 
dom  of  God  on  earth. 

There  is  only  one  way,  then,  for  God  to  secure 
His  share  of  the  increase,  and  that  is  for  the  in¬ 
dividual  to  play  fair  with  God.  God  helped  him 
to  make  money.  He  was  a  factor  in  its  produc¬ 
tion.  Therefore  a  part  of  this  increase  belongs 
to  Him.  It  is  not  a  question  of  the  individual ’s 
giving  some  of  it  to  God,  hut  of  recognizing  the 
fact  that  a  portion  of  it  belongs  to  Him.  If  a  man 
is  to  deal  honestly  with  his  Lord,  he  must  set 
aside  the  Lord’s  share.  He  can  cheat  or  short 
change  the  Lord  if  he  wants  to.  The  Lord  is  not 
here  in  person;  He  does  not  compel  the  man  to 
divide  or  pay.  There  is  no  coercion ;  the  man  is 
strictly  on  his  honor.  But  he  cannot  violate  that 
confidence  without  peril  to  his  own  soul. 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  II 

1.  How  does  society  secure  its  «share  of  the  increase  of 
wealth  ? 

2.  Name  the  seven  major  needs  of  the  individual. 

3.  Why  should  some  money  be  spent  on  the  mind  and  the 
soul? 

4.  What  should  a  Christian’s  major  motive  be?  What  is 
real  success?  Which  period  of  Silas  Marner’s  life  was  most 
successful  ? 

5.  Explain  the  difference  between  necessity  and  luxury. 

6.  Can  a  man  who  pays  but  thirty  cents  a  week  to  the 
church  afford  to  own  an  automobile? 

7.  Is  money  spent  on  recreation  wasted?  Do  you  think  a 
Christian  can  spend  more  money  on  recreation  than  religion? 

8.  How  is  God  to  secure  His  share  of  the  increase  of 
wealth?  How  should  it  be  set  aside? 

9.  If  you  accept  the  implications  of  this  chapter,  begin  now 
to  adjust  your  expenditures  so  that  all  of  life  may  be  properly 
developed. 


Chapter  III:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  NEW 
TESTAMENT  STEWARDSHIP 


“Give  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you;  good  measure,  pressed 
down,  shaken  together,  running  over,  shall  they  give  into  your 
bosom.  For  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured 
to  you  again.” 

Luke  6:  38. 


“Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give.” 

Matthew  10:8. 

“It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.” 

Acts  20:35. 


“The  Lord  loveth  a  cheerful  giver.” 

II  Corinthians  9:7. 


“They  sold  their  possessions  and  goods  and  parted  them  to 
all,  as  any  man  had  need.” 


Acts  2:45. 


“And  with  great  power  gave  the  apostles  their  witness  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus:  and  a  great  grace  was 
upon  them  all.  For  neither  was  there  among  them  any  that 
lacked:  for  as  many  as  were  possessors  of  lands  or  houses 
sold  them  and  brought  the  prices  of  the  things  that  were  sold 
and  laid  them  at  the  apostles’  feet :  and  distribution  was  made 
unto  each,  according  as  any  one  had  need.” 

Acts  4:33-35. 


“Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  let  each  one  of  you  lay  by 
him  in  store  as  he  may  prosper  that  no  collections  be  made 
when  I  come.” 


I  Corinthians  16:2. 


Chapter  III 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  NEW  TESTAMENT 
STEWARDSHIP 

HOW  much,  then,  shall  the  honorable  Chris¬ 
tian  steward  put  aside  as  a  fair  proportion 
with  which  to  honor  his  Lord?  There  is  a  wide 
difference  of  opinion  on  this  subject,  and  a  still 
wider  practice.  One  man  will  give  1  per  cent, 
another  2  per  cent,  another  5  per  cent,  another 
7  per  cent  or  10  per  cent.  Others  say  they  will 
put  aside  something  for  the  Lord  4  ‘  when  they  feel 
like  it. 1  9  This  promiscuous  and  unsystematic  plan 
of  dividing  hinders  the  spiritual  growth  of  the  in¬ 
dividual  and  blocks  the  progress  of  the  Lord’s; 
work.  The  starting  point  ought  to  be  about  10  per 
cent  for  the  average  Christian.  If  he  does  not 
desire  to  give  the  same  percentage  that  the  Jews 
gave,  let  it  be  9y2  or  11  per  cent. 

Is  tithing  a  New  Testament  ordinance ?  The 
question  is  raised  by  some  who  do  not  desire  to 
pay  as  much  as  10  per  cent  as  to  whether  tithing 
is  a  New  Testament  requirement,  whether  it  was 
specifically  mentioned  by  Christ  or  the  apostles 

as  a  part  of  the  Christian  dispensation.  “If  so,” 

47 


48  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

say  they,  i ‘ Give  us  the  chapter  and  verse.’ ’  On 
the  other  hand,  there  are  many  who  insist  that 
tithing  is  a  New  Testament  command  and  a  New 
Testament  ordinance,  the  same  as  baptism  and 
the  Lord’s  Supper,  and  they  quote  and  interpret 
certain  passages  of  Scripture  to  maintain  this 
position. 

A  frank  discussion  is  now  in  order  regarding 
the  New  Testament  teaching  on  the  subject  of 
stewardship  and  tithing.  Nothing  will  be  gained 
by  keeping  silent  on  this  point.  Nothing  will  be 
gained  by  overstating  and  twisting  the  Scriptures 
beyond  their  intent  and  meaning.  Most  people 
will  be  surprised  to  know  that  there  are  but  six 
references  to  tithing  in  the  New  Testament.  Let 
these  be  examined  to  discover  just  what  the 
teaching  is  upon  that  subject. 

But  six  New  Testament  references  to  tithing. 

(1)  The  first  reference  to  the  subject  of  tith¬ 
ing  is  found  in  Matt.  23 :  23.  It  reads  as  follows : 

“Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  for  ye 
tithe  mint  and  anise  and  cummin,  and  have  left  undone  the 
weightier  matters  of  the  law,  justice,  and  mercy,  and  faith; 
but  these  ye  ought  to  have  done,  and  not  to  have  left  the 
other  undone.” 

This  is  from  an  address  of  Jesus  in  which  he 
is  pronouncing  condemnation  upon  the  hypocrisy 
of  the  Pharisees.  He  incidentally  mentions  tith¬ 
ing,  but  that  is  not  the  theme  of  His  address.  It 
has  often  been  pointed  out  that  the  only  thing 
Jesus  ever  commended  about  the  Pharisees  was 


Christian  and  New  Testament  Stewardship  49 

their  observance  of  the  tithing  law.  When  Jesus 
said :  ‘  ‘ .  .  .  but  these  ye  ought  to  have  done,  and 
not  to  have  left  the  other  undone,’ ’  He  certainly 
endorsed  the  principle  of  tithing,  but  He  does  not 
here  reenact  the  tithing  system  as  an  ordinance 
for  the  Christian  dispensation. 

(2)  The  second  reference  is  found  in  Luke 
11 : 42. 

“But  woe  unto  you,  Pharisees !  for  ye  tithe  mint  and  rue  and 
every  herb,  and  pass  over  justice  and  the  love  of  God;  but 
these  ought  ye  to  have  done  and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone.” 

This  is  almost  the  same  as  the  above  quotation 
from  Matthew.  Its  content,  of  course,  is  the 
same. 

(3)  The  third  reference  is  in  Luke  18: 12. 

“.  .  .  I  fast  twice  in  the  week;  I  give  tithes  of  all  that 
I  get.” 

A  Pharisee  was  here  speaking.  He  stood  and 
prayed  and  thanked  God  that  he  was  not  as  other 
men.  Jesus  condemned  this  self-righteous  Phari¬ 
see;  being  a  Jew,  he  was,  of  course,  expected  to 
give  tithes  of  all  that  he  possessed,  and  should  not 
be  commending  himself  to  God  for  doing  so. 
But  this  statement  of  the  Pharisee  has  no  refer¬ 
ence  to  tithing  as  a  Christian  ordinance. 

(4)  The  fourth  reference  is  in  I  Cor.  9: 13-14. 

“Know  ye  not  that  they  that  minister  about  sacred  things 
eat  of  the  things  of  the  temple,  and  they  that  wait  upon  the 
altar  have  their  portion  with  the  altar?  Even  so  did  the  Lord 
ordain  that  they  that  proclaim  the  gospel  should  live  of  the 
gospel.” 


j 


50  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

Tithing  is  not  specifically  mentioned  here,  but 
reference  is  made  to  Numbers  18 :  21-24,  which 
gives  an  account  of  how  the  priests  which  were  of 
the  tribe  of  Levi  were  supported  by  the  tithes  of 
the  other  eleven  tribes.  The  Levites  were  to  have 
no  part  of  the  land  except  the  suburbs  of  the  cities 
in  which  they  dwelt.  They  were  to  have  no  in¬ 
heritance  in  the  4and  of  promise.  They  were  to  be 
supported  by  the  tithes  of  the  children  of  Israel. 
Now,  the  apostle  Paul  says:  “.  .  .  even  so  did 
the  Lord  ordain  that  they  that  proclaim  the  gospel 
should  live  of  the  gospel.”  The  teaching  is  very 
plain  here  that  those  who  are  to  be  set  aside  dis¬ 
tinctly  as  ministers,  missionaries,  and  Christian 
workers  shall  be  supported  by  the  gifts  of  others. 
But  Paul  has  not  stated  that  the  tithing  system  is 
to  be  reestablished  to  support  them. 

(5)  The  fifth  reference  is  in  Heb.  7 : 1-10. 

This  is  a  discussion  of  how  Abraham  paid  tithes 
to  Melchizedek  in  the  patriarchal  dispensation. 
It  also  restates  that  the  sons  of  Levi  received 
tithes  for  their  support  from  the  other  tribes.  It 
says  that  the  Levites  who  received  tithes  also  paid 
tithes.  The  writer  then  discusses,  in  verses  11-19, 
the  enlarging  ideals  of  Christ’s  priesthood.  He 
says  of  Jesus:  ‘ ‘ Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedek.”  Then  he  definitely 
states:  “For  there  is  a  disannulling  of  a  fore¬ 
going  commandment  because  of  its  weakness  and 
unprofitableness  (for  the  law  made  nothing  per¬ 
fect)  and  the  bringing  in  thereupon  of  a  better 


Christian  and  New  Testament  Stewardship  51 

hope  through  which  we  draw  nigh  unto  God.” 
But  in  all  of  this  discussion,  there  is  no  statement 
that  the  law  of  the  tithe  is  to  be  the  financial  sys¬ 
tem  of  the  Christian  church. 

(6)  The  sixth  and  last  reference  is  in  Heb.  7: 
20-25. 

These  verses  continue  the  discussion  regarding 
the  Levitical  priesthood,  and  only  indirectly  refer 
to  tithing.  They  state  that 4  ‘  by  so  much  also  hath 
Jesus  become  the  surety  of  a  better  covenant.” 

Now,  these  six  references  are  all  that  the  New 
Testament  contains  bearing  directly  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  tithing.  Most  certainly  these  references 
do  not  suggest  that  either  Christ  or  the  apostles 
reenacted  the  tithing  system  as  an  ordinance  of 
the  Christian  dispensation. 

Statements  of  church  historians .  Neither  is  it 
perfectly  clear  from  the  writings  of  the  church 
historians  of  the  first  five  centuries  that  the  early 
church  definitely  and  specifically  practiced  tith¬ 
ing  as  its  financial  system.  The  need  of  support¬ 
ing  the  clergy  who  were  withdrawn  from  secular 
business  was  recognized.  During  the  fourth  cen¬ 
tury  little  is  written  about  it,  and  some  writers 
regard  the  matter  from  a  totally  different  point 
of  view  from  that  which  was  later  adopted. 

Irenaeus,  referring  to  the  tithes  in  the  Jewish 
system,  says,  characteristically,  that  Christians, 
as  “  those  who  have  received  liberty,  set  aside  all 
their  possessions  for  the  Lord’s  purposes,  bestow- 


52  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

ing  joyfully  and  freely  not  the  less  valuable  por¬ 
tions  of  their  property.’ ’ 

Origen  regards  tithes  as  something  to  be  far 
exceeded  in  Christian  giving. 

Epiphanius  says  that  the  tithe  is  no  more  bind¬ 
ing  than  circumcision. 

Augustine  regards  the  tithe  as  something  due 
by  Christians  to  God,  although  he  and  others  are 
prompted  by  the  finer  ideal  of  freedom  in  all 
Christian  giving. 

Is  the  Christian  free  from  stewardship  obliga¬ 
tions?  Shall  we  say,  then,  that  the  Christian  is 
free  from  all  obligations  of  stewardship!  That 
there  is  no  law  or  principle  by  which  he  is  to  be 
governed!  By  no  means.  While  the  law  of  the 
tithe  has  not  been  reenacted  in  the  Christian  dis¬ 
pensation,  yet  the  great  principles  of  stewardship 
and  tithing  remain.  Principles  never  change. 
Dispensations  may  change,  and  nations  may 
change,  but  principles  do  not  change.  God  is  not 
interested  in  percentages.  He  is  interested  in 
principles,  in  personalities.  The  principle  of  tith¬ 
ing  was  the  great  principle  of  liberality.  Its  pur¬ 
pose  was  to  teach  men  to  give  back  to  God  a 
portion  of  that  which  God  puts  into  their  hands. 
Men  need  to  give  to  please  God.  They  need  to  give 
to  keep  from  becoming  selfish  and  covetous.  They 
need  to  give  for  the  normal  development  of  hu¬ 
man  character. 

There  seems  to  be  an  eternal  fitness  in  the  con¬ 
secration  of  one-seventh  of  an  individual’s  time 


Christian  and  New  Testament  Stewardship  53 

as  well  as  about  one-tenth  of  his  income  to  the 
Lord.  It  has  been  scientifically  demonstrated  that 
both  animals  and  men  can  actually  accomplish 
more  in  working  six  days  a  week  rather  than 
seven.  It  has  also  been  demonstrated  that  nine- 
tenths  of  the  income,  with  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  it  and  system  used  in  its  distribution,  will 
go  further  than  the  entire  income  without  this 
blessing  and  system. 

Hence  the  principle  of  tithing,  whether  it  was 
in  the  patriarchal  dispensation,  the  Jewish  dis¬ 
pensation,  or  the  Christian  dispensation,  is  a 
God-given  principle.  In  the  patriarchal  and  Jew¬ 
ish  dispensations,  the  tithe  was  the  Lord’s.  That 
much  was  required  as  a  constant  reminder  to  the 
J ewish  people  that  God  was  in  their  midst. 

Now,  in  the  Christian  dispensation,  that  prin¬ 
ciple  of  liberality  still  remains.  However,  Jesus 
has  taken  off  all  restrictions,  and  has  given  His 
disciples  the  great  task  of  evangelizing  the  wTorld. 
With  this  tremendous  task  before  them,  and  with 
unprecedented  wealth  in  their  possession,  Chris¬ 
tian  men  and  women  who  understand  the  spirit 
of  Christ,  will  recognize  that  the  tithing  principle 
was  revised  upward.  Jesus  never  revised  any¬ 
thing  downward.  Everything  He  touched  was 
enlarged  and  spiritualized.  There  was  no  legal¬ 
ism  involved  in  anything  He  did.  While  He  did 
away  with  some  of  the  forms,  the  great  principles 
took  on  a  new  content,  and  men  were  moved  by 
a  new  life  purpose  in  carrying  out  His  desires. 


54  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

The  tithe  is  the  Lord’s,  to  be  sure,  but  with  many 
men,  five  tithes  and  eight  tithes  and  even  nine 
tithes  are  the  Lord’s. 

The  Christian  is  not  under  law,  but  under 
grace.  Grace  and  love  have  superseded  the  law. 
The  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to 
Christ.  The  apostles  were  Jews  before  Pente¬ 
cost.  Their  ancestors  had  been  taught  to  pay 
tithes  for  generations.  Is  it  conceivable  that 
after  Pentecost  the  apostles  and  the  three  thou¬ 
sand  converts  paid  less  than  10  percent?  A  new 
world  program  was  ushered  in.  Every  reason  for 
liberality  which  existed  before  Pentecost  existed 
after  Pentecost. 

Christian  obligation  greater  than  Jewish .  The 
obligations  of  the  Christian,  therefore,  were  not 
less  than  those  of  the  Jew,  but  more.  His  oppor¬ 
tunity  was  not  smaller,  but  greater.  The  ten 
commandments  as  such,  were  not  reenacted  in 
the  New  Testament,  but  their  great  principles 
were  never  abrogated  and  are  still  binding  upon 
the  human  family.  There  is  no  definite  command 
to  do  many  things  which  we  know  are  involved 
in  the  confession  and  acceptance  of  Christ  as 
redeemer  and  Lord.  The  fact,  therefore,  that 
there  is  no  definite  command  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  for  the  Christian  to  pay  tithes,  does  not 
lessen  his  obligations  to  Christian  stewardship. 
In  fact,  it  increases  them,  for  the  Christian  is 
thereby  put  upon  his  honor  as  a  disciple  of  his 
Lord  to  do  everything  that  is  possible,  and  to  give 


Christian  and  New  Testament  Stewardship  55 

everything  that  is  possible,  to  establish  Christ’s 
Kingdom  upon  earth. 

“The  Lord  did  not  reenact  that  His  followers 
should  pay  a  patriarchal  tithe,  a  Levitical  tithe,  a 
festival  tithe,  a  poor’s  tithe,  a  demai  tithe,  or 
any  other,  but  so  far  was  He  from  lowering  God’s 
claims  on  property  that  He  set  before  those  who 
would  be  His  followers  a  more  complete  fulfill¬ 
ment  of  the  law;  and  an  ideal  more  lofty  than 
any  other  when  He  gave  those  remarkable  words 
to  His  disciples,  ‘It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than 
to  receive’;  and  also  that  ‘If  any  man  will  come 
after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself  and  take  up  his 
cross  daily  and  follow  Me.’  ” 

New  Testament  teaching  and  example .  Note, 
now,  how  these  principles,  enlivened  by  a  new 
content  and  a  world  opportunity,  worked  out  in 
the  church  of  the  first  century. 

“They  sold  their  possessions  and  goods,  and  parted  them 
to  all,  according  as  any  man  had  need.” 

Acts  2:45. 

Tithing?  To  be  sure,  but  far  more  than  that! 
Again,  it  was  said  of  the  early  church  members: 

“.  .  .  and  great  grace  was  upon  them  all.  For  neither  was 
there  among  them  any  that  lacked;  for  as  many  as  were 
possessors  of  lands  or  houses  sold  them,  and  brought  the  prices 
of  the  things  that  were  sold  and  laid  them  at  the  apostles’ 
feet;  and  distribution  was  made  unto  each, ‘according  as  any 
one  had  need.” 

Acts  4: 33-35. 

Is  there  any  record  in  the  Old  Testament,  or  in 


56  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

secular  history,  where  a  tithing  Jew  ever  did  a 
thing  like  that? 

John’s  teaching  was  this: 

“Whoso  hath  the  world’s  goods  and  beholdeth  his  brother  in 
need  and  shutteth  up  his  compassion  from  him,  how  doth  the 
love  of  God  abide  in  him?” 

I  John  3:17. 

James  clearly  taught  that  stewardship  should 
be  based  upon  ability  and  need : 

“If  a  brother  or  sister  be  naked  and  in  lack  of  daily  food 
.  .  .  and  ye  give  not  the  things  needful  .  .  .  what  doth  it 
profit  ?” 

James  2:15-16. 


Paul  said: 


“We  should  remember  the  poor,  which  very  thing  I  was  also 
zealous  to  do.” 


Galatians  2:10. 


Again  Paul  taught: 

“Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  let  each  one  of  you  lay 
by  him  in  store  as  he  may  prosper,  that  no  collections  be 
made  when  I  come.” 

1  Corinthians  16:2. 

This  has  been  called  by  some  one  Paul’s  “Pod 
of  P’s.” 


Periodic  . “the  first  day  of  the  week” 

Personal  . “each  one” 

Provident  . “lay  by  in  store” 

Proportionate  . “as  he  may  prosper” 

Preventive  . “that  no  collections  be  made” 


While  this  was  written  to  the  Corinthians, 
Paul  wrote  the  same  thing  to  the  churches  in 
Galatia,  for  he  says : 


Christian  and  New  Testament  Stewardship  57 


“.  .  .  as  I  gave  order  to  the  churches  of  Galatia,  so  also 
do  ye.” 


1  Corinthians  16:1. 


Paul  also  said  of  the  churches  in  Macedonia : 

“For  according  to  their  power,  I  bear  witness,  yea  and 
beyond  their  power,  they  gave  of  their  own  accord  ...  in 
the  ministering  to  the  saints.” 

II  Corinthians  8:3-4. 


Paul,  in  writing  to  Timothy,  uses  these  words  : 

“Charge  them  that  are  rich  .  .  .  not  to  have  their  hope  set 
on  the  uncertainty  of  riches,  but  .  .  .  that  they  do  good,  that 
they  be  rich  in  good  works,  that  they  be  ready  to  distribute, 
willing  to  communicate.” 

I  Timothy  6 : 17. 

PauPs  great  commendation  of  the  churches  of 
Macedonia  shows  how  this  enlarging  stewardship 
ideal  was  working: 

“We  make  known  to  you  the  grace  of  God  which  hath  been 
given  in  the  churches  of  Macedonia.  .  .  .  For  according  to 
their  power,  yea,  and  beyond  their  power  they  gave  of  their 
own  accord,  beseeching  us  with  much  entreaty  in  regard  of 
this  grace  and  the  fellowship  in  the  ministering  to  the  saints 
and  this  not  as  we  had  hoped,  but  first  they  gave  their  own 
selves  to  the  Lord.” 

II  Corinthians  8:1-8. 

Another  great  passage  from  Paul  says : 

“But  this  I  say,  He  that  soweth  sparingly  shall  reap  also 
sparingly ;  and  he  that  soweth  bountifully  shall  reap  also 
bountifully.  Let  each  man  do  according  as  he  hath  purposed 
in  his  heart;  not  grudgingly,  or  of  necessity:  for  God  loveth 
a  cheerful  giver.  And  God  is  able  to  make  all  grace  abound 
unto  you;  that  ye,  having  always  all  sufficiency  in  everything, 
may  abound  unto  every  good  work;  as  it  is  written,  He  hath 
scattered  abroad,  he  hath  given  to  the  poor;  His  righteousness 
abideth  forever.  And  he  that  supplieth  seed  to  the  sower 


58  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

and  bread  for  food,  shall  supply  and  multiply  your  seed  for 
sowing  and  increase  the  fruits  of  your  righteousness ;  ye  being 
enriched  in  everything  unto  all  liberality,  which  worketh 
through  us  thanksgiving  to  God.” 

II  Corinthians  9:6-11. 

F.  W.  Burnham  has  said  that  he  considers  this 
the  greatest  stewardship  passage  in  the  entire 
Bible.  He  says  the  concept  here  is  that  men  are 
not  vessels  to  contain  God’s  grace,  hut  rather 
that  men  are  channels  through  which  the  power 
and  grace  of  God  are  to  flow  for  the  accomplish¬ 
ment  of  His  great  purposes  in  the  world. 

Now,  all  this  can  have  but  one  meaning.  The 
principles  of  liberality  and  stewardship  in  the 
New  Testament  dispensation  far  exceed  those  of 
the  preceding  dispensations.  If  these  standards 
of  stewardship  that  were  practiced  by  the  early 
church  are  too  great  for  the  twentieth  century 
Christian,  if  they  are  more  than  he  can  bear,  let 
him,  as  a  starter, 'begin  where  the  Jew  did,  with 
the  10  per  cent,  and  then  grow  “from  grace  to 
grace.” 

What ,  therefore ,  is  the  authority  or  obligation 
for  Christia/yi  stewardship f 

(1)  The  obligation  of  being  a  Christian.  It  is 
impossible  to  be  a  Christian  and  not  be  a  follower 
of  Christ.  To  follow  Christ  is  to  give,  for  He 
gave  all. 

(2)  The  teachings  of  the  New  Testament  on  the 
subject  of  stewardship.  While  tithing  is  not 
specifically  commanded,  the  New  Testament 
abounds  with  teachings  as  to  how  men  should  use 


Christian  and  New  Testament  Stewardship  59 

their  money  to  advance  the  Kingdom.  4  4  The 
dawn  of  Christianity  gave  a  tenth ;  shall  the  noon¬ 
day  do  less  than  the  dawn?” 

(3)  The  example  of  the  early  church.  If  we 
are  to  restore  New  Testament  Christianity,  we 
must  restore  New  Testament  liberality.  There 
are  many  examples  which  show  that  the  early 
church  gave  far  more  than  10  per  cent. 

(4)  The  need  of  the  individual  to  practice  the 
grace  of  giving.  Christians  need  to  give  to  keep 
them  from  growing  selfish.  To  be  god-like,  men 
must  do  god-like  things.  “It  is  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive.  ’  ’ 

(5)  The  obligation  of  a  world  program.  There 
was  no  world  program  under  Judaism.  But  the 
prophecy  stated  that  when  the  Messiah  came,  He 
should  establish  His  Kingdom  throughout  all  the 
earth.  Christ  said  to  His  disciples:  “Go  ye 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature/ ’  This  new  program  of  world  conquest 
lays  a  divine  obligation  of  stewardship  upon 
every  Christian. 

(6)  The  obligation  of  the  Golden  Rule.  That 
great  principle  of  doing  unto  others  as  we  would 
have  others  do  unto  us  is  a  principle  of  steward¬ 
ship.  If  we  were  in  physical  need  or  without 
education,  or  without  the  opportunity  of  educa¬ 
tion,  or  without  Christ,  we  would  want  the  help  of 
others.  So  we,  in  turn,  should  help  minister  to 
those  in  similar  circumstances. 

(7)  The  obligation  of  wealth.  The  possession 


60  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

of  wealth  lays  an  obligation  upon  the  Christian. 
Wealth  is  potential  power.  The  very  fact  that 
the  Christian  has  an  income,  or  has  accumulated 
wealth,  and  therefore  has  the  power  to  do  good, 
puts  him  under  obligation  to  do  good. 

(8)  The  authority  of  conscience.  No  Christian 
can,  in  good  conscience,  refuse  to  give.  While 
conscience  is  partially  a  matter  of  education,  yet 
in  this  enlightened  age,  every  man  is  fully  aware 
of  the  fact  that  to  make  a  profession  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  lays  upon  him  the  obligation  to  live  up  to 
that  profession. 

(9)  The  obligation  of  reciprocity.  God  helped 
each  individual  make  his  money,  and,  as  has  been 
stated  before,  the  individual  must  give  for  dis¬ 
tinctly  Kingdom  enterprises  a  part  of  the  money 
which  God  helped  him  to  make. 

(10)  The  obligation  of  system.  No  man  has  a 
right  to  be  haphazard  in  his  giving.  We  are 
taught  not  to  be  “slothful  in  business  but  fervent 
in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord.”  Ten  per  cent,  or 
some  other  fixed  amount,  not  only  puts  system 
into  one’s  giving,  but  will  bring  system  to  the 
balance  as  well. 

(11)  The  challenge  of  the  unfinished  task.  In 
this  twentieth  century,  there  are  still  millions  of 
people  who  have  not  yet  heard  the  name  of 
Christ.  As  long  as  there  is  darkness  in  the 
jungles  of  Africa,  as  long  as  there  are  millions  of 
false  gods  in  India,  as  long  as  there  are  great 
areas  in  China,  Japan,  and  Tibet  that  have  never 


Christian  and  New  Testament  Stewardship  61 

Leard  the  gospel  preached  even  once,  just  that 
long  shall  the  claims  of  Christian  stewardship 
press  upon  the  wealth  of  Christian  men  and 
women. 

The  Conclusion .  Shall  the  Christian,  therefore, 
pay  10  per  cent?  Yes,  he  should  begin  there  as  a 
minimum.  That  is  a  good,  regulative  norm.  It  is 
easy  to  compute.  But  that  is  not  where  he  should 
stop.  If  his  wealth  is  great,  and  his  income  large, 
he  will  seek  the  privilege  of  giving  much  more 
than  did  the  Jew.  He  will  discover  opportunities 
for  alleviating  the  suffering  of  the  world.  He 
will  do  everything  in  his  power  to  help  answer 
that  prayer  of  his  Lord,  “Thy  Kingdom  come, 
Thy  will  be  done,  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven.’ ’ 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  III 

1.  Name  six  New  Testament  references  to  tithing-. 

2.  Do  any  or  all  of  these  state  that  the  tithing  system,  as 
an  ordinance,  was  reenacted  in  the  Christian  dispensation? 

3.  What  do  some  of  the  church  historians  say? 

4.  Is  the  Christian  free  from  stewardship  obligations? 
Show  why  the  principles  of  tithing  and  liberality  are  greater 
for  the  Christian  than  the  Jew. 

5.  Name  the  eleven  New  Testament  references  in  this  chap¬ 
ter  which  show  that  the  early  church  far  exceeded  the  Jewish 
tithe. 

6.  Give  the  eleven  reasons  why  we  should  practice  New 
Testament  liberality. 

7.  Can  New  Testament  Christianity  be  restored  without 
restoring  New  Testament  stewardship? 

8.  Do  you  agree  that  the  Christian  under  grace  should  give 
as  much  as  the  Jew  did  under  the  law?  Begin  now  by  setting 
aside  at  least  10  per  cent  of  your  income  as  God’s  share. 


Chapter  IV:  THE  CHRISTIAN’S  ADMINISTRA¬ 
TION  OF  THE  LORD’S  SHARE 


“What  shall  I  render  unto  Jehovah  for  all  his  benefits 


towards  me?” 

Psalms  116:12. 

“Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar’s  and  unto 
God  the  things  that  are  God’s.” 

Matthew  22 : 21. 

“For  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also.” 

Matthew  6:21. 

“Moreover  it  is  required  in  stewards  that  a  man  be  found 


faithful.” 

I  Corinthians  4:2. 

“According  as  each  hath  received  a  gift,  ministering  it 
among  yourselves  as  good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of 


God.” 

1  Peter  4 : 10. 

“He  that  is  faithful  in  a  very  little,  is  faithful  also  in  much ; 
and  he  that  is  unrighteous  in  a  very  little,  is  unrighteous  also 
in  much. 


Luke  16: 10. 


Chapter  IV 


the  Christian’s  administration  of  the 

lord’s  share 

THE  Christian,  having  acknowledged  that  a 
portion  of  the  increase  belongs  to  God,  and 
having  accepted  a  New  Testament  principle  in 
discovering  what  that  portion  should  be,  will 
carefully  consider  a  Christian  method  of  its 
administration.  God  helped  to  produce  the 
money,  therefore,  His  share  should  be  religiously 
set  aside,  and  set  aside  first.  In  that  way  only 
can  the  individual  be  honest  with  himself  and 
honest  with  his  Lord.  He  is  the  trustee  or 
steward  of  the  Lord’s  portion,  and  should  admin¬ 
ister  it  in  a  way  that  he  is  sure  will  be 'pleasing 
to  his  silent  Partner. 

Questions  and  answers .  A  man  once  asked: 
“Do  you  mean  that  $100  out  of  the  $1,000  is  to  be 
set  aside  as  the  Lord’s  share,  after  the  rent, 
grocery  bill,  clothing,  and  other  bills  have  been 
paid,  provided  there  is  $100  left?”  That  is 
exactly  what  is  not  meant.  If  he  waits  until  the 
last  of  the  month  or  the  last  of  the  year  after  pay¬ 
ing  all  other  bills,  he  will  likely  have  nothing  left 

for  the  Lord.  The  only  safe  and  sure  way  is  to  set 

65 


66  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

aside  the  10  per  cent  before  any  other  bill  is  paid. 

Another  man  asks:  “Do  you  mean  that  this 
10  per  cent  should  be  paid  to  the  Lord  after  the 
individual  gets  out  of  debt?”  No,  that  is  not 
meant.  The  man  owes  God  His  share  whether  he 
is  in  debt  or  not.  Men  usually  get  in  debt  for  one 
of  three  reasons:  First,  they  borrow  money  to 
make  more  money.  If  that  be  the  case,  there  is 
no  good  excuse  for  not  dividing  the  regular  in¬ 
come  with  the  Lord.  Second,  to  meet  their  own 
or  family  desires.  Third,  men  get  in  debt  through 
carelessness  about  their  nnancial  affairs.  The 
Kingdom  should  not  suffer  because  men  grow 
careless. 

Another  raises  this  question:  “Suppose  I  am 
caring  for  an  aged  mother  or  some  other  relative, 
Should  not  this  be  counted  as  a  part  of  the  10 
per  cent?”  Ask  the  aged  mother  on  that  point. 
If  she  felt  that  she  was  a  charity  patient  in  the 
home  of  her  own  children,  she  would  certainly 
want  to  go  to  the  poorhouse.  Whether  a  man  is  p 
Christian  or  not,  he  is  under  obligation  to  care  for 
his  aged  parents  if  they  need  it.  He  owes  to  them 
a  debt  which  he  can  never  repay.  But  their  sup¬ 
port  should  not  be  taken  out  of  the  Lord’s  portion. 

Another  asks:  “How  can  we  know  what  our 
income  is?”  This  excuse  in  the  form  of  a  ques¬ 
tion  might  have  passed  muster  before  the  war. 
The  Federal  Income  Tax  law  now  helps  to  answer 
that  question.  Men  must  know  what  their  in¬ 
comes  are.  Even  the  farmer  must  now  estimate 


Christian’s  Administration  of  Lord's  IS  hare  67 

bis  income.  But  if  there  were  no  governmental 
regulations,  it  would  be  wise  to  keep  accounts  in 
business  affairs.  Men  have  not  succeeded  by 
carelessness  or  ignorance.  They  have  succeeded 
by  knowing  their  business  affairs  and  by  careful 
management  of  them. 

In  estimating  the  income  tax,  the  government 
allows  15  per  cent  exemption  for  religious  and 
charitable  contributions.  The  government  evi¬ 
dently  expects  its  citizens  to  make  liberal  contri¬ 
butions  towards  religious  institutions. 

Dickering  with  the  Lord .  The  above  questions 
and  many  similar  ones  are  merely  excuses  on  the 
part  of  some  people  to  escape  paying  the  10  pet 
cent  in  real  money  to  God.  They  desire  to  he 
known  as  liberal  givers  without  actually  paying 
the  money.  This  is  only  dickering  with  the  Lordc 
If  a  person  does  not  desire  to  pay  the  10  per  cent, 
there  is  no  law  in  the  church  or  state  that  can  com¬ 
pel  him  to  do  so.  But  the  spiritual  blessing  which 
comes  to  the  liberal  giver  cannot  and  will  not 
come  to  one  who  is  trying  to  drive  a  sharp  bar¬ 
gain  with  the  Lord.  To  be  a  Christian  steward 
means  to  have  an  open  hand  and  an  open  heart. 

A  business  man  dickers *  A  well-to-do  business 
man  made  a  pledge  both  to  the  forward  move¬ 
ment  and  to  the  underwriting  debt  of  his  com¬ 
munion.  When  appealed  to  for  a  gift  to  the 
missionary  board  to  close  the  year  without  a 
deficit,  this  business  man  sent  his  check  with 
instructions  that  the  gift  was  to  go  to  the  mis- 


68  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

sionary  society,  and  was  also  to  pay  his  under¬ 
writing  pledge  and  his  original  forward  move¬ 
ment  pledge.  Since  one  check  was  to  do  the  work 
of  three,  no  wonder  it  was  sent  by  special 
delivery ! 

A  minister  dickers.  A  minister,  during  an 
Every-member  Canvass,  failed  to  renew  his 
pledge.  When  asked  for  the  reason,  he  replied 
that  he  had  recently  received  a  call  offering  him 
$3,000  a  year,  while  his  present  salary  was  but 
$2,500.  Since  he  had  refused  to  accept  the  call, 
thus  giving  up  $500,  he  counted  that  as  his  con¬ 
tribution  for  the  year. 

A  woman  dickers.  A  woman  who  was  handy 
with  her  crochet  needle  made  a  hood  for  the 
minister’s  new  baby.  She  presented  the  gift  at 
the  parsonage  with  much  ado,  and  at  a  time  when 
she  would  receive  some  publicity.  However,  on 
her  way  home  she  stopped  at  the  church  treas¬ 
urer’s  office  and  asked  for  a  credit  of  $1  on 
her  church  subscription. 

An  electrician  dickers.  The  electrician  argued 
that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  find  10  per  cent 
for  the  church  out  of  a  salary  of  $146  per 
month.  He  was  asked  to  carefully  estimate  where 
every  dollar  of  his  income  had  gone  during  the 
preceding  six  months.  Later  he  reported  that  he 
and  his  wife  had  discovered  that  they  had  been 
spending  17  per  cent  of  their  income  on  non- 
essentials,  in  some  cases  on  things  they  would 
have  been  better  off  without.  He  confessed  that 


Christians  Administration  of  Lord  s  Share  69 

he  had  spent  $7.50  a  month  on  tobacco  alone. 
Later  he  said:  “ After  I  have  put  aside  10  per 
cent  for  the  Lord,  I  am  still  ahead  7  per  cent  over 
my  former  haphazard  expenditures/ ’ 

A  traveling  man  dickers .  This  man  relates 
that  he  and  his  wife  put  the  Lord’s  share  in  the 
sewing  machine  drawer.  They  received  their 
salary  on  the  first  of  each  month.  About  the  third 
week  both  were  usually  out  of  money.  They  bor¬ 
rowed  from  the  sewing  machine  drawer,  and  when 
the  next  salary  check  came,  they  always  forgot  to 
repay  the  Lord.  It  was  a  good  deal  like  borrow¬ 
ing  money  from  one’s  wife’s  folks  and  always 
failing  to  pay  it  back.  Finally,  to  remove  the 
temptation,  he  opened  up  a  separate  account  in 
the  bank  for  the  Lord’s  share. 

Dissipating  the  Lordys  share.  There  are  some 
Christians  who  carefully  set  aside  a  portion  of 
the  income  for  religious  purposes,  and  then  dissi¬ 
pate  it  in  its  distribution.  They  give  a  dribble 
here  and  a  dribble  there.  They  hand  out  a  quarter 
to  an  unworthy  beggar,  or  go  to  a  church  supper 
and  pay  50  cents  for  a  75  cent  meal,  and  feel  that 
they  are  making  a  contribution  to  the  Lord.  They 
scatter  the  money  promiscuously  without  any 
careful  thought  or  study  as  to  how  it  might  he 
used  to  bring  power  to  the  church  if  combined 
with  the  gifts  of  others.  When  the  month  or  the 
year  has  gone  by,  the  Lord’s  share  has  been  dissi¬ 
pated,  and  no  constructive  contribution  has  been 
made  which  will  add  permanence  to  the  cause  of 


70  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

religion.  This  is  certainly  unfaithfulness  in  the 
matter  of  stewardship. 

Four  suggestions  for  proper  administration. 

(1)  Proper  administration  requires  careful 
study.  Just  how  may  the  Christian  see  to  it  that 
the  Lord’s  share  goes  where  the  Lord  wants  it 
to  go?  Shall  he  leave  it  entirely  to  the  adminis¬ 
tration  of  the  minister  and  official  hoard  of  his 
church,  who  may  be  careless  or  ignorant  about 
its  administration?  If  he  so  leaves  it,  it  may  not 
be  used  for  the  purposes  intended.  The  Chris¬ 
tian,  as  a  steward,  really  cannot  escape  the 
obligation  of  making  a  careful  study  of  the  places 
where  he  desires  this  money  to  be  used,  and  of 
following  it  through  to  see  that  it  goes  for  those 
purposes. 

(2)  The  Lord’s  share  should  be  set  aside  m 
actual  money  in  a  separate  bank  account,  or  in 
cash  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  income,  or  as  a 
separate  account  on  the  ledger.  Many  people 
think  they  are  giving  more  than  they  really  are. 
By  carefully  setting  it  aside,  it  is  possible  to 
know  the  amount  that  is  being  used  for  religious 
purposes.  There  is,  then,  a  real  fund,  a  tangible 
amount  of  money,  which  is  to  be  administered, 
and  there  will  be  no  uncertainty  about  it. 

(3)  For  the  average  family,  about  70  per  cent 
or  80  per  cent  of  this  amount  should  be  given 
through  the  church  budgets,  local  and  missionary. 
If  the  church  is  to  have  the  power  and  prestige  to 
which  it  is  entitled,  it  should  secure  the  major  por- 


Christian's  Administration  of  Lord's  Share  71 

tion  of  the  contributions  of  its  members.  The 
church  is  the  representative  of  organized  religion. 
Assuming  that  the  church  is  properly  educated 
along  missionary  and  benevolent  lines,  it  will 
make  good  use  of  the  money  through  its  recog¬ 
nized  missionary  and  benevolent  agencies.  The 
remainder  of  the  Lord’s  share,  of  about  20  per 
cent  or  30  per  cent,  may  be  used  for  Sunday- 
school  and  other  causes  which  may  not  be  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  regular  church  budgets. 

(4)  Gifts  of  $10,000  or  $50,000  or  $1,000,000  to 
outside  causes  are  rarely  ever  made  through  the 
missionary  budgets  of  the  local  church.  If  all 
were  practicing  New  Testament  stewardship,  the 
church  would  necessarily  be  prepared  to  intelli¬ 
gently  administer  such  a  trust.  The  average 
church  would  not  know  what  to  do  with  a  million 
dollars  if  it  should  be  given.  Until  such  a  time  as 
the  church  can  be  trusted  with  large  sums,  those 
individuals  who  have  such  contributions  to  make 
should  carefully  study  the  needs,  program  and 
work  of  their  national  missionary,  benevolent,  and 
educational  agencies,  and  so  give  their  money  that 
these  institutions  may  be  strengthened  and  en¬ 
larged. 

What  the  Lord's  share  will  do  when  freely 
given  and  honestly  administered.  At  this  point 
much  could  be  written  on  the  uses  that  could  be 
made  of  this  money.  Most  people  begin  there. 
But  there  is  a  bigger  thing  than  that  in  connection 
with  this  $100  or  $1,000  or  $10,000.  It  has  been 


72  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

said  that  a  dollar  has  two  ends,  one  that  reaches 
afar,  and  the  other  which  reaches  back  into  the 
life  of  the  individual. 

1.  What  it  will  do  for  the  individual .  In  the 
language  of  the  oil  man,  the  dollar  given  away  has 
a  “back  kick.”  It  has  a  reflex  influence.  The 
biggest  thing  this  money  does  is  what  it  does  for* 
the  individual.  It  is  a  great  event  in  his  life  when 
he  reaches  the  decision  to  divide  honestly  with 
his  Lord.  He  is  conscious  of  the  fact  that  he  is 
playing  fair  with  his  Partner  and  his  Creator. 
He  has  the  exhilaration  of  knowing  that  he  not 
only  pays  his  debts  to  society,  but  that  he  is  also 
paying  his  debt  to  God.  This  brings  him  into  a 
new  attitude  in  his  Christian  giving.  When  calls 
or  needs  arise,  he  doesn’t  have  to  give.  That 
question  is  already  settled. 

A  man  wrote:  “I  have  studied  and  prayed 
over  the  matter  for  three  days  since  the  confer¬ 
ence,  and  have  reached  a  definite  decision  to  give 
at  least  10  per  cent  to  the  Lord’s  work.  It  was 
one  of  the  greatest  experiences  of  my  life  when  I 
made  that  decision.” 

To  put  aside  God’s  share  is  not  a  question  of 
giving  to  the  minister,  or  of  raising  “funds”  for 
the  church,  or  of  paying  the  janitor,  or  the  coal 
bill,  or  giving  a  subscription  to  the  Finance  Com¬ 
mittee.  It  is  not  a  transaction  at  all  between  the 
individual  and  any  other  human  being  or  institu¬ 
tion.  It  is  a  transaction  between  himself  and  his 
God.  It  is  a  spiritual  act.  It  is  an  act  of  worship. 


Christian's  Administration  of  Lord's  Share  73 

It  is  as  much  an  act  of  worship  as  when  he  kneels 
in  prayer,  or  partakes  of  the  communion,  or 
listens  to  a  Gospel  sermon.  This  lifts  the  whole 
subject  of  Christian  giving  and  liberality  to  the 
high  plane  upon  which  it  was  intended  to  be.  So 
the  first  and  biggest  thing  this  money  will  do  is 
what  it  does  for  the  man. 

2.  What  it  will  do  for  his  wife.  How  many 
Christian  wives  have  had  to  beg  and  scheme  to 
get  money  from  their  husbands  for  the  church. 
There  has  been  no  system,  and  what  little  has 
been  given  has  often  been  given  with  a  grouch. 
The  Christian  wife  should  no  longer  be  holding 
out  her  hands  for  a  pittance.  When  the  Lord’s 
share  is  set  aside,  this  problem  is  solved.  The 
wife  is  raised  from  the  state  of  a  beggar  to  that 
of  a  steward.  Together  husband  and  wife  admin¬ 
ister  their  stewardship  of  the  Lord’s  money.  A 
Christian  woman,  wife  of  an  employee  of  the  Mis¬ 
souri  Pacific  Eailroad,  once  said:  “It  was  the 
happiest  day  of  our  married  life  when  my  hus¬ 
band  came  home  from  church  and  said  that  here¬ 
after  we  would  always  put  aside  10  per  cent  of 
our  salary  checks  for  the  church.” 

3.  What  it  will  do  for  the  children.  Protestant 
parents  need  to  ponder  long  on  this  point.  The 
statement  that  where  a  man’s  treasure  is,  there 
will  his  heart  be  also,  is  equally  true  of  growing 
children.  If  they  have  no  financial  transaction 
with  the  church,  they  will  gradually  leave  the 
church.  A  child  who  makes  his  confession  and  is 


74  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

baptized,  and  whose  name  has  been  enrolled  on 
the  clerk’s  book  of  the  chnrch,  has  a  right  also 
to  have  his  name  enrolled  upon  the  treasurer’s 
book.  Since  giving  is  a  spiritual  act,  each  indi¬ 
vidual  Christian  must  exercise  the  privilege  of 
giving.  If  this  habit  is  established  in  the  early 
years,  it  will  be  kept  up  throughout  life. 

It  is  impossible  to  hold  either  a  child  or  a  man 
in  the  church  unless  he  has  the  habit  of  giving. 
Those  who  never  pay  seldom  pray  and  soon  get 
out  of  the  habit  of  church  attendance.  One  of 
the  surest  ways  out  of  the  church  is  by  the 
path  of  nonsupport.  The  parents  of  three  grow¬ 
ing  boys  recently  told  the  story  of  how  the 
sixteen-  and  eighteen-year-old  boys  had  lost  all 
interest  in  the  church.  The  mother  stated  that 
she  was  quite  sure  their  loss  of  interest  began 
when  they  stopped  paying  their  pledges  to  the 
church. 

This  problem  of  dividing  money  with  the  Lord, 
therefore,  is  a  bigger  question  than  merely  get¬ 
ting  the  money.  It  is  the  question  of  securing  and 
holding  the  affection  of  men  and  women  and  boys 
and  girls.  It  is  a  question  of  tying  their  interest 
and  devotion  to  the  great  cause  for  which  Christ 
gave  His  life.  It  is  not  a  question  of  raising 
money  at  all;  it  is  a  question  of  raising  men. 
It  is  not  a  question  of  securing  tithes;  it  is  a 
question  of  securing  tithers.  It  is  not  a  question 
of  getting  the  gift ;  but  of  consecrating  the  giver. 


Christian's  Administration  of  Lord's  Share  75 

4.  What  it  will  do  for  the  church.  What  will 
this  money  do  for  the  church? 

(a)  It  will  increase  church  attendance.  Those 
who  systematically  give  must  be  present  at  the 
church  in  order  to  give.  The  givers  are  the  goers. 
Churches  that  have  successfully  enlisted  their 
members  as  regular  contributors,  have  reported 
an  increase  in  the  Sunday  morning  attendance  of 
from  25  per  cent  to  40  per  cent.  The  person  who 
is  perpetually  behind  in  his  church  pledge  un¬ 
consciously  feels  that  he  should  stay  away  from 
church  until  he  catches  up  with  his  payments. 

(b)  It  will  provide  cash  in  advance  for  paying 
the  bills  of  the  church.  The  person  who  sets 
aside  this  money  has  it  on  hand  ready  to  give.  He 
is  never  behind  in  his  church  subscription.  Hav¬ 
ing  his  money  ready  each  Sunday,  there  is  a 
psychological  and  spiritual  reaction  which  brings 
joy  in  making  his  contribution.  Suppose  every 
member  of  the  church  set  aside  the  Lord’s  share, 
real  money,  either  in  a  separate  bank  account, 
or  in  the  sewing  machine  drawer,  or  elsewhere. 
When  Brown  and  Smith  and  Jones  and  Wilson 
and  Thompson  go  to  church  on  Sunday,  they  give 
money  out  of  these  little  subtreasuries  into  the 
Lord’s  central  treasury.  Cash  in  advance  brings 
great  strength  to  any  church. 

(c)  It  will  create  a  new  spirit  of  confidence.  A 
new  feeling  of  power  always  comes  into  the 
church  when  it  is  meeting  all  bills  promptly.  The 
minister  has  a  new  message.  The  attitude  of  the 


76  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

church  hoard  changes  from  pessimism  to  opti¬ 
mism.  The  whole  membership  feels  the  thrill  of  a 
going  institution. 

(d)  It  will  give  the  church  a  good  name  in  the 
community.  Many  churches  have  lost  the  confi¬ 
dence  of  business  men  in  the  community  because 
of  slackness  in  paying  their  bills.  It  has  often 
been  stated  by  business  men  that  it  is  harder  to 
get  money  from  the  average  church  than  from 
any  other  institution  in  town.  Thus  the  unbusi¬ 
nesslike  methods  of  the  church  have  helped  to 
defeat  the  very  purpose  for  which  it  was  organ¬ 
ized.  The  community  expects  the  church  to  be 
honest  and  Christian  and  prompt  in  its  business 
affairs.  If  it  is  not  so  in  these  temporal  things, 
how  can  they  have  complete  confidence  in  it  con¬ 
cerning  spiritual  things? 

A  minister  will  not  easily  win  a  banker  to  join 
his  church,  when  the  church’s  note  is  long  over¬ 
due  with  interest  unpaid.  Neither  will  he  be  able 
to  win  the  coal  dealer,  with  the  coal  bill  unpaid. 
A  good  financial  system  for  the  church,  therefore, 
has  much  more  to  do  than  simply  getting  money. 
It  has  to  do  with  the  souls  of  men  and  women.  It 
is  a  sin  against  God  and  the  souls  of  unredeemed 
men  for  a  church  to  be  dilatory  and  unbusiness¬ 
like  in  its  financial  affairs. 

(e)  It  will  provide  money  for  the  missionary 
and  benevolent  organizations  of  the  church. 
Practically  all  of  the  churches  now  have  mis¬ 
sionary  budgets  and  the  churches  are  beginning 


Christians  Administration  of  Lord's  Share  77 

to  understand  that  payments  should  be  made  to 
the  missionary  budgets  with  as  much  regularity 
as  to  the  local  expense  budgets.  With  money 
coming  in  each  week  and  each  month,  the  whole 
missionary  program  can  be  enlarged  and 
strengthened. 

What  tremendous  possibilities  here !  Every 
need  of  orphaned  children  and  helpless  widows 
could  be  answered.  Every  worthy  veteran  min¬ 
ister  could  have  his  burden  lightened.  We  could 
help  to  house  every  homeless  congregation.  We 
could  supply  Christian  workers  for  every  unoccu¬ 
pied  field  in  America.  We  could  adequately  en¬ 
dow  and  equip  every  needy  Christian  college. 
The  Macedonian  call  from  across  the  world  could 
be  answered.  The  lines  of  the  church  would  go 
out  to  the  ends  of  the  world.  Those  who  now  sit 
in  the  darkness  and  shadow  of  death  would  see  a 
great  light. 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  IV 

1.  Does  being  in  debt  constitute  a  good  reason  for  not 
paying  10  per  cent  or  more  to  God"?  Why  not? 

2.  What  other  excuses  do  men  give?  Do  you  approve  of 
them? 

3.  Discuss  the  five  instances  of  “dickering  with  the  Lord.” 

4.  State  in  what  way  many  people  dissipate  the  Lord’s  share. 

5.  Name  and  discuss  the  four  suggestions  for  proper 
administration. 

6.  State  just  how  putting  aside  the  Lord’s  share  blesses  the 
individual. 

7.  State  how  it  influences  the  wife  and  children. 

8.  Name  five  ways  in  which  it  helps  the  church  and  its 
missionary  program. 


78  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

9.  If  your  church  had  a  million  dollars  to  give  away  for 
good  causes,  how  would  you  advise  distributing  it? 

10.  Start  at  once  a  systematic  plan  of  administering  the 
Lord’s  share,  if  you  have  not  already  done  so. 


Chapter  V:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  NATIONAL 
WEALTH  AND  INCOME 


“Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation;  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to 
any  people.” 


Proverbs  14:34. 


“For  unto  us  a  child  is  bom,  unto  us  a  son  is  given;  and 
the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulders;  and  his  name 
shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  Mighty  God,  Ever¬ 
lasting  Father,  Prince  of  Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his 
government  and  of  peace  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the 
throne  of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  establish  it,  and 
to  uphold  it,  with  justice  and  with  righteousness  from  hence¬ 
forth  even  forever.  The  zeal  of  Jehovah  of  hosts  will  perform 
this.” 

Isaiah  9 :  6-7 . 


“And  he  will  judge  between  many  peoples,  and  will  decide 
concerning  strong  nations  afar  off;  and  they  shall  beat  their 
swords  into  plowshares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks ; 
nation  shall  not  lift  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they 
learn  war  any  more.” 

Micah  4 : 3. 

“Blessed  is  the  nation  whose  God  is  Jehovah,  the  people 
whom  he  hath  chosen  for  his  own  inheritance.” 

Psalms  33 : 12. 


“He  hath  not  dealt  so  with  any  nation;  and  as  for  his 
ordinances,  they  have  not  known  them.  Praise  ye  Jehovah.” 

Psalms  147 : 20. 


Chapter  V 

THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  NATIONAL  WEALTH  AND  INCOME 

IN  the  short  period  of  four  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  years  since  Columbus  discovered  America, 
the  United  States  has  grown  to  be  the  wealthiest 
nation  in  the  world.  Does  this  have  any  meaning 
to  the  Christian  and  to  the  church?  In  1920,  the 
total  national  physical  wealth  of  the  United 
States  was  estimated  to  be  $272,000,000,000. 
Official  figures  compiled  in  connection  with  the 
Conference  on  Limitation  of  Armament  in  Wash¬ 
ington  in  December,  1921,  estimated  our  national 
wealth  at  $350,000,000,000.  This  figure,  however, 
is  undoubtedly  too  high.  It  can  only  be  justified 
by  reckoning  most  of  the  items  at  greatly  inflated 
values,  and  by  not  allowing  anything  for  losses. 
The  first  estimate  of  $272,000,000,000  is  consid¬ 
ered  by  statisticians  to  be  more  nearly  accurate. 

Growth  in  National  and  Per  Capita  Wealth  Since  1850 

Wealth 

Per 


Wealth 

Population 

Capita 

1920 

$272,000,000,000 

105,709,000 

$2,573 

1916 

268,000,000,000 

104,000,000 

2,638 

1912 

187,740,000,000 

95,400,000 

1,965 

1904 

107,100,000,000 

82,400,000 

1,318 

1900 

88,500,000,000 

76,000,000 

1,165 

1890 

65,000,000,000 

63,000,000 

1,035 

1880 

43,600,000,000 

50,000,000 

'870 

1870 

30,000,000,000 

39,000,000 

780 

1860 

16,200,000,000 

31,000,000 

514 

1850 

7,100,000,000 

25,200,000 

30S 

81 


82  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

The  average  wealth  per  family  is  now  esti¬ 
mated  at  $10,300. 

The  above  table  would  indicate  the  truthfulness 
of  that  statement  that  America  is  becoming 
“alarmingly  rich.” 

Comparison  with  other  countries.  (The  figures 
for  1916  are  the  only  ones  available  for  this  com¬ 
parison.) 


United  States  . . 
British  Empire 
German  Empire 

Erance  . 

Russia  . 

Austria-Hungary 

Italy  . 

Belgium  . 


$268,000,000,000 

130,000,000,000 

65,000,000,000 

50,000,000,000 

40,000,000,000 

25,000,000,000 

20,000,000,000 

9,000,000,000 


This  shows  that  among  other  leading  nations  of 
the  world,  the  United  States  easily  ranks  first  in 
national  wealth.  She  has  been  blessed  far  above 
any  other  nation. 

Did  the  war  increase  the  national  wealth? 
Many  wild  statements  are  made  about  the  fabu¬ 
lous  increases  in  wealth  during  the  war.  But 
the  facts  are  that  the  national  wealth  did  not  in¬ 
crease  during  the  war  period.  It  is  not  a  wealth- 
producing  program  to  take  from  five  to  ten  million 
men  out  of  the  productive  life  of  the  country,  and 
enlist  them  in  the  business  of  destruction. 
Neither  is  it  a  wealth-producing  program  to  turn 
many  of  the  great  manufacturing  and  industrial 
organizations  from  their  normal  pursuits,  and 
put  them  at  the  business  of  manufacturing  the 


The  Christian  and  National  Wealth  83 

implements  and  munitions  of  war.  The  figures 
show  that  while  the  total  national  wealth  in¬ 
creased  about  $4,000,000,000  from  1916  to  1920, 
the  per  capita  wealth  decreased  from  $2,638  to 
$2,573.  This  means  a  per  capita  loss  of  $65  for 
every  citizen  of  the  United  States.  The  figures 
also  show  that  the  quantity  of  raw  material  of 
all  kinds  per  person  has  remained  practically 
stationary  from  1913  to  1920.  The  average  in 
1913  was  ll1/^  tons  per  person,  and  in  1920  it  was 
ll7/io  tons  per  person.  This  clearly  shows  that 
the  war  did  not  increase  the  wealth  of  the  United 
States. 

But,  some  one  says:  “Did  not  many  men 
amass  huge  fortunes  during  the  war?”  Yes,  but 
here  is  one  way  that  it  was  done.  Sugar  was  ten 
cents  a  pound.  Thirty  days  later,  it  went  to 
twenty  cents  a  pound,  making  an  extra  dollar  on 
each  ten  pounds.  If  five  million  families,  which  is 
a  low  estimate,  each  bought  ten  pounds  of  sugar, 
an  extra  $5,000,000  would  have  gone  into  the 
hands  of  the  sugar  dealers.  There  was  the  same 
amount  of  sugar  in  existence  and  the  same 
amount  of  money.  No  extra  wealth  was  created. 
There  was  merely  an  exchange  of  the  $5,000,000 
from  the  pockets  of  the  common  people  to  the 
pockets  of  the  sugar  profiteers.  This  thing  was 
true  in  many  lines  of  trade.  Prices  rose  to  amaz¬ 
ing  figures.  But  to  increase  the  price  of  a  com¬ 
modity  does  not  increase  the  amount  of  wealth  in 
the  nation. 


84  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

The  cost  of  the  war .  One  look  at  the  cost  of  the 
war  is  enough  to  show  that  the  war  did  not  add 
to  our  total  national  wealth : 

Military  costs  (as  per  Secretary  Houston) . . .  $24,010,000,000 
Extra  governmental  costs  (as  per  Secretary 


of  the  Treasury)  .  4,500,000,000 

Red  Cross  contributions .  978,000,000 

Other  relief  funds  .  700,000,000 


Total  .  $30,188,000,000 


This  list  necessarily  does  not  include  the  loss  of 
time  of  the  men  engaged  in  war,  nor  the  loss  of 
life,  nor  the  lowering  of  the  moral  standards  of 
the  nation  and  of  the  world. 

Largest  items  of  national  wealth .  It  will  he  of 
interest  to  note  the  major  items  in  our  national 
wealth.  No  other  nation  has  such  a  variety. 


Gold  and  silver  .  $3,823,000,000 

Farms  and  buildings  .  66,190,000,000 

Other  buildings  (includes  valuable  city  property)  65,120,000,000 

Mines  .  3,269,000,000 

Steam  railways  .  25,500,000,000 

Manufacturing,  machinery,  tools  .  15,500,000,000 

Automobiles  .  4,594,000,000 

Light  and  power  plants  .  4,058,000,000 

Furniture,  carriages,  etc .  10,600,000,000 

Clothing,  jewelry,  etc .  5,300,000,000 

Stocks  of  goods  .  19,000,000,000 


These  are  only  the  largest  of  many  items  which 
go  to  make  up  the  whole. 

Wealth  of  American  farmers.  According  to 
the  last  census,  the  farmers  had  in  farms,  farm 
buildings,  implements,  and  live  stock,  a  total 
wealth  of  $77,925,000,000.  This  was  an  average 


The  Christian  and  National  Wealth  85 

of  $12,085  per  farm.  Besides  this  property,  they 
had  large  holdings  of  automobiles,  investments  in 
Liberty  Bonds  and  other  securities,  and  savings 
bank  deposits.  Some  of  their  farms  were  mort¬ 
gaged,  the  total  mortgages  in  1920  being  $7,857,- 
700,000.  This  is  about  one-tenth  of  the  total 
value.  The  homes  of  people  in  other  industries 
are  mortgaged  to  as  high  a  percentage  and  in  all 
probability  higher.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that 
the  average  wealth  per  family  for  farmers  is 
larger  than  the  average  wealth  per  family  for 
the  whole  population.  A  1920  estimate  shows 
that  26,500,000  families  in  the  United  States  have 
an  average  wealth  of  about  $10,300  per  family. 
The  average  wealth  of  farmers  is  $12,085  per 
family.  Note  that  this  estimate  is  per  family, 
and  not  per  capita. 

The  national  income .  The  national  income  at 
the  close  of  1920  was  estimated  at  $65,500,000,000. 
The  per  capita  income  increased  from  $319  per 
year  in  1909  to  $586  per  year  in  1920.  Some  esti¬ 
mates  give  the  1920  per  capita  income  as  high 
as  $629. 

While  the  national  income  is  now  larger  than 
ever  before,  it  is  also  more  widely  distributed. 
In  the  ten-year  period  to  1920,  the  figures  show 
that  the  division  of  income  between  the  wage 
earners  and  workers  on  salary,  and  the  owners 
and  managers  of  property,  has  steadily  increased 
in  favor  of  the  wage  earners.  In  1909  wages  and 
salaries  amounted  to  69  per  cent  of  the  total  in- 


86  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

come,  and  the  managers  of  the  property  received 
31  per  cent.  In  1920,  the  wage  earners  received 
80  per  cent  and  the  managers  and  owners  of 
property  only  20  per  cent. 

The  reports  show  that  there  were  about  200,000 
people  of  voting  age  whose  incomes  were  “  below 
zero.”  That  is,  they  were  supported  entirely  by 
the  gifts  and  taxation  of  the  rest  of  the  popula¬ 
tion.  There  was  another  group  whose  income 
was  less  than  $500  per  year.  But  both  of  these 
cases  are  the  exception,  and  not  the  rule.  The 
great  bulk  of  the  American  people  do  have  in¬ 
comes  sufficient  to  support  them,  by  careful 
economy  and  system. 

The  largest  number  of  returns  was  from  people 
whose  incomes  were  from  $900  to  $1,100.  There 
were  more  than  6,000,000  persons  in  this  class. 
The  number  of  those  who  received  $2,000  or  less 
is  87  per  cent  of  the  whole.  But  this  87  per  cent 
of  the  people  receives  61  per  cent  of  the  total 
income. 

There  were  152  people  whose  incomes  were 
$1,000,000  and  over.  Ten  of  that  number  had 
incomes  of  more  than  $4,000,000.  Some  persons 
conclude  that  those  who  receive  these  large 
amounts  are  getting  the  bulk  of  the  national  in¬ 
come.  While  these  sums  are  very  large,  they 
are  only  one-half  of  1  per  cent  of  the  total. 
Those  who  receive  incomes  of  $100,000  and  over 
receive  a  little  less  than  3  per  cent  of  the  whole 
income.  It  will  be  interesting  to  further  note  that 


The  Christian  and  National  Wealth  87 


all  those  who  received  $25,000  or  more,  including 
the  $100,000  class  and  the  $1,000,000  class,  re¬ 
ceived  about  7  per  cent  of  the  total  income. 
Hence,  93  per  cent  of  the  income  is  distributed 
among  those  who  receive  less  than  $25,000  per 
year. 


Percentages  of  the  National  Income 


Farmers  .  17%% 

Mines  .  3% 

Manufacturing-  .  30% 

Transportation  .  9%% 

Banking-  . 1%% 

Government  .  5 %% 

Unclassified  .  33% 


It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  general  classifica¬ 
tion  that  no  one  class  is  securing  a  corner  on  the 
national  income.  It  is  being  distributed  very 
widely  among  all  classes  of  people. 

The  purchasing  power  of  the  national  income . 
An  interesting  table  has  been  worked  out  by  the 
National  Bureau  of  Economic  Kesearch  in  its 
volume  entitled,  “Income  in  the  United  States,’ 1 
in  which  is  shown  the  national  income  and  its 
purchasing  power  at  the  price  level  of  1913.  The 
table  shows  that  in  1910  the  national  income  was 
$31,000,000,000  and  in  1920  it  was  $65,500,000,000. 
The  increase  is  not  nearly  so  great  when  meas¬ 
ured  by  the  purchasing  power  at  the  price  level 
of  1913.  This  would  show  the  relative  increase 
to  be  as  follows : 


1910 . . . $31,000,000,000 

1920 .  37,000,000,000  (deflated  value) 


88  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

In  making  an  interpretation  of  the  growth  of 
our  national  income,  it  would  he  well  to  remember 
this  interesting  computation. 

Our  bill  for  American  luxuries.  The  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  has  estimated  that  in  1919,  the 
people  of  the  United  States  purchased  luxuries 
as  follows : 


Joy  riding,  pleasure  resorts,  races,  etc . $3,000,000,000 

Luxurious  services .  3,000,000,000 

Excessively  high-priced  wearing  apparel,  car¬ 
pets,  and  rugs  .  1,500,000,000 

Cigars,  cigarettes,  tobacco,  snuff .  2,110,000,000 

Perfumery,  face  powder,  cosmetics  .  750,000,000 

Soft  drinks  .  350,000,000 

Candy  . 1,000,000,000 

Chewing  gum  .  50,000,000 

Jewelry  . . 500,000,000 


Total  . . . $12,260,000,000 


This  is  about  20  per  cent  of  the  total  national 
income.  This  is  indeed  amazing  in  a  Christian 
nation.  More  than  $12,000,000,000  spent  on  lux¬ 
uries  !  Things  which  people  would  have  been  just 
as  well  off  without,  and  in  many  cases  better! 
While  one  committee  is  talking  of  the  cost  of 
American  schools,  which  is  $1,000,000,000,  and 
even  hinting  at  curtailment,  this  report  shows  that 
the  American  people  spent  twelve  times  that 
amount  on  luxuries  alone.  A  casual  observer  will 
at  once  conclude  that  not  all  of  this  was  spent  by 
the  extremely  rich. 

Government  tax  on  luxuries.  The  government 
made  a  fine  distinction  between  necessaries  and 
luxuries  during  the  war.  Shoes  which  cost  $10.00 


The  Christian  and  National  Wealth  89 

or  less  were  necessaries,  and  were  not  taxed. 
Shoes  which  cost  more  than  $10.00  were  in  the 
luxury  class,  and  a  luxury  tax  was  placed  upon 
them.  Ice-cream  sundaes  were  considered  luxu¬ 
ries  ;  theaters,  high-priced  cigars,  etc.,  had  to  hear 
luxury  taxes.  This  point  was  also  carefully  con¬ 
sidered  on  the  income  tax  returns.  The  average 
man  paid  a  certain  rate,  but  the  man  with  a  large 
income  paid  a  much  higher  rate.  For  instance, 
the  income  tax  on  incomes  of  from  $5,000  to 
$10,000  was  2.41  per  cent.  On  incomes  of  $150,000, 
the  tax  was  13.92  per  cent ;  the  tax  on  incomes  of 
$1,000,000  and  over  was  35.65  per  cent. 

Now,  if  the  larger  incomes  have  a  larger  obli¬ 
gation  to  the  government  in  times  of  war,  and  in 
paying  the  national  debt,  why  should  they  not 
also  assume  larger  responsibilities  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Kingdom? 

Responsibility  of  a  Christian  America .  The 
above  figures  of  wealth  and  income  should  have 
a  sobering  influence  on  American  Christianity. 
They  certainly  illustrate  the  truth  of  that  state¬ 
ment  of  the  Psalmist:  “He  hath  not  dealt  so 
with  any  nation.  ’  ’  What  could  not  a  real 
Christian  America  do  in  world  evangelization? 
Suppose  American  statesmanship,  business,  com¬ 
merce,  industry,  conducted  their  affairs  in  the 
light  of  the  Great  Commission ! 

American  Protestantism  likewise  faces  a  tre¬ 
mendous  responsibility.  Protestantism  now  num¬ 
bers  about  25,000,000  people  among  its  communi- 


90  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

cants.  Much  of  this  vast  wealth  is  now  in  their 
possession.  A  large  share  of  the  income  is  pour¬ 
ing  into  their  pockets  annually.  The  statement  is 
often  made  that  Christian  people  as  a  class  are 
more  thrifty  than  others.  If  that  he  true,  then 
considerably  more  than  the  average  share  of  the 
wealth  and  income  is  being  administered  by  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  church.  Is  Protestant  America  living 
up  to  its  obligation,  and  is  it  seriously,  in  the  light 
of  its  unprecedented  wealth,  facing  its  world 
opportunity  ? 

Stewardship  Possibilities  of  Protestantism. 
One  needs  only  to  “ sharpen  his  pencil”  to  esti¬ 
mate  the  tremendous  possibilities  of  enlarging  the 
Kingdom  if  the  Protestant  communions  began  the 
practice  of  New  Testament  stewardship.  Figur¬ 
ing  that  they  have  incomes  equal  only  to  the 
average,  the  25,000,000  Protestants,  with  a  per 
capita  income  of  $586,  would  have  a  total  income 
of  $14,650,000,000.  If  these  church  members  gave 
the  minimum  of  10  per  cent,  the  Lord’s  share 
would  be  $1,465,000,000. 

The  United  Stewardship  Council,  in  its  1922 
statistics,  lists  the  total  gifts  of  the  twenty-six 
leading  communions,  including  three  Canadian 
communions  with  a  membership  of  less  than 
3,000,000,  as  $395,626,545.  This  includes  gifts  to 
both  local  expense  budgets  and  missionary  and 
benevolent  budgets.  The  same  table  shows  the 
membership  of  those  churches  to  be  21,084,557. 
Estimating  that  the  remaining  Protestant  mem- 


The  Christian  and  National  Wealth  91 

bership  of  3,915,443  gave  as  much  as  $50,000,000 — 
which  is  undoubtedly  too  high  for  those  smaller 
communions — then  the  total  Protestant  gifts 
would  be  $445,626,545. 

Let  us  face  squarely  the  two  figures : 

At  the  minimum  of  10  per  cent  the  gifts  would  be  $1,465,000,000 


Actual  gifts  for  1922 .  445,626,545 

Short  of  giving  the  10  per  cent .  1,019,373,455 


This  ought  to  drive  church  leaders  to  their 
knees.  A  day  of  confession  and  repentance  ought 
to  be  called  for  American  Protestantism.  It  is 
doomed  unless  it  can  throw  off  this  curse  of  with¬ 
holding  from  the  Lord  that  which  belongs  to  Him. 

The  Protestant  forces  recently  created  some¬ 
what  of  a  flurry  when  they  organized  and  pro¬ 
moted  the  Inter-church  World  Movement.  But 
the  leaders  in  their  wildest  dreams  did  not  put  the 
financial  aims  at  more  than  a  half  billion  dollars. 
Yet  these  Protestant  constituencies  the  very  year 
of  the  “Great  Debacle,”  withheld  a  clean  billion 
dollars  from  God.  Well  may  the  “friendly  citi¬ 
zen,”  when  asked  to  help  finance  the  Movement, 
have  said :  i  ‘  Physician,  heal  thyself.  ’  ’ 

According  to  the  table  on  the  following  page,  the 
per  capita  giving  for  all  purposes  was  $18.77, 
whereas  it  would  have  been  $58.60  if  all  gave  as 
much  as  10  per  cent.  It  seems  well-nigh  incredible 
that  the  best  Christian  people  of  America  have 
done  so  little  considering  the  means  at  their  com¬ 
mand. 


STEWARDSHIP  POSSIBILITIES  OF  SEPARATE  COMMUNIONS 

In  order  that  Protestant  church  members  may  not  fail  to  grasp  the  full  meaning  of  this  colossal  “shortage"  in  our  stewardship 
accounts,  the  stewardship  possibilities  of  twenty-six  communions  are  here  given.  These  estimates  are  then  compared  with  the  actual 


■^NOMHMNOMMHMNHNOlNiOaoOO 

Tj<rHtr-r*io5©©oo©©©©©©co©o500rH©© 

rr.  i  rr.  _ i  rr»  —J  m  irH  r-— 


_  Tt<rHt~Hl'O5©©00©©©©©©CO©O500rH©© 
MOOiOH®M'OcO'<it05H<OWH©INN  ©  ©  l®  *" 

e  oo©o5t-TiC<>5©ecco©’t-aocot-corH©"©©*©’tH 
"t*  co  ©  ©  th  co  ©  ©  rH  ©  oo  co  -»*  oo  oo  ©  oo  oo  ©  c-  co 

5  C^©  ©  ©  pH  t-  rH  rH  rH  ©  ©  ©_  QO  rH  ©  lO  ©  ©  CO  t»  © 

S'  rH  O  00  ■^U3I><N  rjT  05  CO  oTej"©  00  ©  rH  00  IN  ©  V  ■**’  CO 

°a  ©  05  ©  C5HIHCOO  rliOHN  HH 


OO  rH  iO 
CO  CO  t— 
©  ©t- 

lO  00  o’ 

©  rH  05 
LO  00  CO 


LO  rH 

LO  © 
Olr 

LO  rH 
©J> 
rH  rH 

CO*  CO 
CO 


O  JS  05 

■SO*-* 


©00  05©rHCOCO©00©©©®©rHe005©©rH©©© 
©•H<C0t-05  00  00Cl0rHC0©t-©rH05H<Ht<©05©©C0o 
H*©©©t-O5tTr*rHH*-<*05©©Hl<©eO©t-©00'OrH 

t>  05  CO*  rH  t-’©’  cT©’oTrH  ©  ©  cT  ©’  HjJ"  ntT  CO  ©*  CO  coV  »  P" 
©©OOt-rtlt-ClO©©rHrH©C00505COOOOOHj<iHCO©CO 
00  ©  05  CO  ©  05  05  ©  ©  CO  05  ©  ©  ML  05  ©  05  t—  ©  © 

rH  CO  CO*  rH  rH  rH  P  CO*  P  rH  ©  ©’  CO  C5  CO*  05  oT  rH  P  CO  ©  ©’  05~  CO  © 

CfrMCO  CM  rH  rH  00  CO  h*  rH  CO  rH 


rH  ©  t— 

©  © 
©  H  05 

CO  00  1> 
rH  ©  © 
©  *-  CO 


<o 

^3 

V- 


CO 
Q5  C3 


°  g  - 

*p»  SvO 

<3 

g  © 
S1-1 


CO  ©  05  05  05  ©  ©  ©  rH  ©  ©  05  CO  ©  00  CO  h#(  ©  HL  ©  ©  CO  ©  ©  ©  00 
THLOLr5OJ-r*C0Htl»C000rHCOt-t'-LQ©©t--vfL©©<M,^<rHlO© 
00-H<©rH©©C000©C0©©O5rHOC0©tA©©©  Nf.  05  © 

©  00  ©  ©’  UO  <N  CO*  CO*  05*  CM*  ©  t>  ©  t-  00  LO  of  ©  P  ©  ©  CO  LO  p  co’  00 

©  00  t—  00  00  05  00  ©  ©  ©  ©  ©  HC  ©  GO  rH  CO  ©  CO  ©  t—  ©  ©  CO  ©  CO 

©(^■^©COrHt-HtLHjLOHLCOOrH©©©  OH  ©  CO  Ooo  CO  ©  © 

Co’  P  05  ©~  ©  ©  ©’  iP  CO  P  ©  P  CO  rH  P  p  ©’  ©  p  p  00  ®>  ©  ©  ©’  © 

00- 1—  ©  hJL  t-  rH  CO  ©  05  C5  CO  C5  ©  05  ©  rH  <M  HI 

rH  C5  rH  rH 


V 

CD 

CD  ©  © 

S»  g 

O  ©  (55 

►h  e  v. 

CD 


Cd  ©  HfC  -^C 
CO  ©  05  05 
rH  ©  ©  05 

OOp©P 
‘O  00  ©  © 
05  00  t-  00 
©  05’P© 

CO  H  05  LO 
«9-t-  © 


©©©©00®©©00©H©©©HH05©©©©© 
05  ©  ©  ©  rH  ©  ©  05  ©  ©  00  CO  H  ©  HC  ©  ©  CO  ©  ©  ©  00 
H  00  H  t—  00  00  rH  CO  t—  t—  ©  ©  ©  1>  H  ©  ©  N-rJC  rH  ©  © 

©’  ©  co’  00  ©  co’  ©’  ©’  05’  r-T  ©’  co’  ©  t»  CO  ©  ©’  05  P  P  of  ©’ 

©  05  CO  CO  05  05  ©  t—  ©  t—  00  ©  05  ©  H  ©  ©  CO  ©  HC  CO  00 

00  05  QO  ©  ©  ©  ©  ©  H  ©  00  rH  CO  ©CO  ©  t-  ©  ©  CO  ©  CO 

CO  rH  I—’  PP©’P©’aO  p00  ©*©’©  p©  Ol’©  CO  Co’©’© 

©  ©  ©  t—  CO  H  ©  rH  CO  H  H  H  ©  ©  r^l  He  00  ©  O  ©  ©  © 

HUr  rH  CO  ©  CO  05  CO  05  O  05  ©  H  C5  H 

r,  *L 

05  rH  rH 


a 

o 

•rH 

3 

3 

5 

a 

o 

o 

si 

o 

ct 

0) 

<H 

o 

05 

t, 

O 

6 
<D 

5h 

•rH 

© 

o 

01 

si 


S3 

O 
X 3 
on 

OB 

c4 

G 

o 

l> 

•  rH 

be 

+2 

a 

& 

o 

a 

d 


.Or 

V 

Hi 

«9 

v. 

05 

rO 


6 

o 

•<H 

i 

g 

g 

o 

O 


<3 

fe; 


C5rH-^tTjC©rH©©C0©rHrHC0©HI©rH©r#l©05®©rHO© 

©O5COO0t-l-©Ht(rHC0o5©CO®Hl<O5rHrtl©O5O5O5©eO©00 
CO  t-  ©  ©  ©  05  05  CO  t—  00  CO  ©  ^5  rH  CO  CO  05  GO  00  ©  05  ©_©  ©  0)^1— 

rH  t-  hT  t-  CO’  OO*  ©’  ©’  CO  ©’  CO*  rH  ©’  CO*  rH  t-  t-T  £-’  rH  rt  -H  lO*  rH  rH  05* 
©©00©©C0rHO5O5©t'-Hjc©t'*©rH©rHrH©HLC0©O5©CO 

05  05  H  00  CO  rH  05  ©©HCt*C0  COt-rjCrHrHCOcO  GO  rH 

co’  05’ 


<  CO 


o 

£ 

<D 

3 

O’ 

tJ 

3 

rt 


3 
O 

-eg 

o  S  S 
rg^3 
X  —  H-> 
c  *3  3 
O  O  o 
O'Am 


3 

<v 

n 

-3 


a 


^  H 

0*grH 
—  HJ  2 

3  O  rt  cq.3 
be  05 


o< 

•rH 

w  3 
■C  o  — 
3  m  O 

rA 

— 1  <!  T) 


o 

3 

U1 


a!  ^ 
-H  ^ 
oo  a 

aj 

®o 

Sr 
05 

3 

’rt-H-r 

o  o 


3 

o 

GG 

“H 

Ct 


6*e< 


d 

X3 

d 

3 

ci 

o 


ei 


ft  ^ 

8  3 


O  o 

O  O  H 
.2  w+2 


ft-H 

8  fc 

2  a 


S  -e-P45.H^  H  ’o 5  .  09 

I  »  “  .2  -g  P  S  Oh  bp  SB'S 

aj  l/j  hn'd  C  d  C 


—  hh-h>.2  <-  bC‘3  3  3 

ftftfth  3  3  S  « 

ddecSjnj3o.r*>>ki 

mpqMOQQQWWfe 


6  h  ft  o 
C  "m  M  2  ^ 

ct  oi  •'->  IIj  \ZZ  ci 
S  E  T3  X)  *0  ‘rH 
SSoOOr- 

-P  -Pi)  4J  -P 
3  3  QJ  4)  O  O 


XI 

033 

I-  HH>  +) 

3  S  3 

H  O  o  .  - 

ft<! 

3  3  3  .g 

cj  cS  cS  H 

•rH  -rH  •  rH  -W 

p  p  p  C 'd 

^  0)  CJ  ctj  (D 

P  p  p  H 

W  C 

X)X)X>  o)  c 

CO  CO  03  H->  O 

05  05  0)  O  LH 

J_  L,  U  05 

ft  ft  Ph  rH  Pi 


m 


&  §' 


3 

•H 

M 

0) 


^  5  w 
g-e 

5  rC  CQ 

S  >  'S  2 

T)  CQ  W 

CD  ^ 

gT3T3rd,T5 
C  CD  <D  <D  <D 

Q  -*_>  -4P)  -*P  4-> 

».  1  •  rH  »rH  »»-H  «rH 

05  3  3  3  3 


92 


TOTAL  SHORTAGE  . $839,928,494 


The  Christian  and  National  Wealth  93 

Disciples  of  Christ  set  the  pace  for  forward 
movements  several  years  ago  in  their  Men  and 
Millions  Movement.  $6,300,000,  in  individual 
five-year  pledges,  over  and  above  the  regular 
budgets,  was  raised.  Yet  if  that  communion  had 
given  to  its  church  enterprises  the  minimum  of 
10  per  cent  of  its  income,  it  could  have  paid  in  one 
year  its  regular  gifts  of  $14,682,788,  paid  up  the 
entire  Men  and  Millions  pledge  of  $6,300,000  and 
have  had  a  cash  balance  of  $55,805,557. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  its  Cen¬ 
tenary  campaign,  set  new  standards  of  giving  for 
all  other  communions.  $105,000,000  was  reported 
pledged,  to  be  paid  over  a  five-year  period.  Yet 
if  that  church  had  paid  the  tenth,  it  could  have 
made  its  regular  gifts  of  $82,920,015,  have  paid  all 
of  the  $105,000,000  on  the  Centenary  in  a  single 
year,  and  have  had  a  balance  left  over  of 
$33,187,161. 

Baptists,  Congregationalists,  Episcopalians, 
Lutherans,  Presbyterians,  and  many  others,  have 
recently  had  their  “ forward  movements.”  Yet 
there  is  not  one  of  these  communions  but  that 
could  have  doubled  its  five-year  aim  in  cash,  in  a 
single  year,  if  its  members  had  been  practicing 
New  Testament  stewardship. 

It  would  seem  that  what  Protestantism  needs  is 
not  more  drives,  but  more  desire  to  do  God’s 
will;  not  more  spasms,  but  more  religion;  not 
more  campaigns,  but  more  cashing  up  on  our  debt 
to  God;  not  more  forward  movements,  but  more 


94  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

far-reaching  and  systematic  instruction  in  the 
fundamentals  of  Christian  stewardship ;  not  more 
machinery,  but  more  men,  consecrated  and  dedi¬ 
cated  to  completely  fulfill  the  desires  of  Christ, 
and  to  share  with  Him  in  the  conquest  of  the 
world. 

Democracy  of  Stewardship .  The  wide  distribu¬ 
tion  of  wealth  and  income  lays  the  foundation  for 
a  great  democracy  of  stewardship.  If  all  Chris¬ 
tians  would  follow  the  suggestions  of  recognizing 
God’s  share  in  making  money,  and  of  religiously 
setting  aside  His  share,  the  church  would  enter  a 
new  era  of  power  undreamed  of  by  priest, 
prophet,  or  apostle.  Giving  should  be  democratic. 
Universal  giving  is  highly  desirable.  Its  possi¬ 
bilities  are  here.  The  widow’s  mite  is  acceptable. 
The  American  church  is  not  and  must  never  be  a 
rich  man’s  church.  The  smaller  gifts,  and  they 
are  legion,  coming  out  of  the  prayer,  sacrifice,  and 
devotion  of  the  average  givers,  are  “  transformed 
into  talents  of  silver  and  gold.  ’  ’  Love  and  affec¬ 
tion  follow  the  gift.  “The  gift  without  the 
giver  is  bare.”  The  Lord’s  treasury  is  open  to 
all.  And  He  is  still  sitting  “over  against  the 
treasury”  taking  note  of  how  the  American  Chris¬ 
tian  casts  his  “money  into  the  treasury.” 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  V 

1.  What  is  the  total  national  wealth  of  the  United  States  f 
Discuss  its  growth  since  1850 ;  also  the  per  capita  growth. 

2.  Compare  our  national  wealth  with  that  of  other  countries. 

3.  State  why  the  war  did  not  increase  our  national  wealth. 
How  did  some  men  amass  huge  fortunes  during  the  war? 


The  Christian  and  National  Wealth  95 


4.  Name  the  largest  items  of  national  wealth.  Discuss  the 
wealth  of  farmers  as  compared  with  that  of  others. 

5.  What  is  the  total  national  income,  and  the  per  capita 
income  ? 

6.  Do  the  millionaires  get  the  bulk  of  the  national  income? 
Give  the  facts  regarding  the  matter. 

7.  What  per  cent  of  the  luxury  bill  would  you  estimate  was 
spent  by  church  members?  Do  you  consider  the  government 
luxury  tax  just?  Why? 

8.  Discuss  the  stewardship  possibilities  of  Protestantism. 

9.  What  is  your  opinion  about  the  “shortage”  of  the  various 
communions?  Is  this  “shortage”  embezzlement  of  the  Lord’s 
money  ? 

10.  Consider  how  you  may  help  to  bring  your  church  and 
communion  up  to  its  full  stewardship  possibilities. 


Chapter  VI:  THE  CHRISTIAN  WHOSE  INCOME 
IS  $5,000  OR  MORE 


“The  sleep  of  a  laboring  man  is  sweet,  whether  he  eat  little 
or  much;  but  the  fullness  of  the  rich  will  not  suffer  him  to 
sleep. 

Ecclesiastes  5:12-13. 

“There  is  an  evil  which  I  have  seen  under  the  sun,  and  it  is 
heavy  upon  men:  a  man  to  whom  God  giveth  riches,  wealth 
and  honor  so  that  he  lacketh  nothing  for  his  soul  of  all  that 
he  desireth;  yet  God  giveth  him  not  power  to  eat  thereof,  but 
an  alien  eateth  it;  this  is  vanity,  and  it  is  an  evil  disease.” 

Ecclesiastes  6:1-2. 

“Woe  unto  them  that  join  house  to  house,  that  lay  field  to 
field,  till  there  be  no  room,  and  ye  be  made  to  dwell  alone  in 
the  midst  of  the  land.” 

Isaiah  5 : 8. 

“But  when  the  young  man  heard  the  saying,  he  went  away 
sorrowful;  for  he  was  one  that  had  great  possessions.  And 
Jesus  said  unto  his  disciples,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  It  is 
hard  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
And  again  I  say  unto  you,  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go 
through  a  needle’s  eye,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  the 
kingdom  of  God.” 

Matthew  19 : 22-24. 

“Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this  present  world,  that  they 
be  not  highminded,  nor  have  their  hope  set  on  the  uncertainty 
of  riches,  but  on  God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy; 
that  they  do  good,  that  they  be  rich  in  good  works,  that  they 
be  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to  communicate.” 

I  Timothy  6: 17-18. 

“For  if  the  readiness  is  there,  it  is  acceptable  according  as 
a  man  hath,  not  according  as  he  hath  not.  For  I  say  not  this, 
that  others  may  be  eased,  and  ye  distressed:  but  by  equality; 
your  abundance  being  a  supply  at  this  present  time  for  their 
want,  that  their  abundance  also  may  become  a  supply  for 
your  want,  that  there  may  be  equality :  as  it  is  written,  He  that 
gathered  much  had  nothing  over;  and  he  that  gathered  little 
had  no  lack.” 


II  Corinthians  8:12-15. 


Chapter  VI 

THE  CHRISTIAN"  WHOSE  INCOME  IS  $5,000  OR  MORE 

THE  government  reports  on  the  income  of  the 
American  people  show  that  there  are 
842,458  persons  who  receive  an  income  of  $5,000 
or  more.  This  is  only  2%o  per  cent  of  the  total 
number  of  people  reporting  their  incomes,  but  the 
amount  which  they  receive  is  18  per  cent  of  the 
total.  This  puts  them  in  a  favored  class.  They 
are  blessed  above  their  neighbors.  They  have  the 
means  of  living  in  better  homes  and  otherwise 
providing  for  their  families  above  the  ability  of 
the  average  man. 


The  list  of  large  incomes . 


587,824 

persons 

receive 

from 

$5,000 

to 

$10,000 

per 

year 

192,062 

a 

a 

u 

10,000 

a 

25,000 

a 

a 

41,119 

u 

a 

a 

25,000 

a 

50,000 

a 

a 

14,011 

u 

a 

it 

50,000 

a 

100,000 

a 

a 

4,945 

a 

a 

u 

100,000 

a 

200,000 

a 

a 

1,976 

a 

a 

a 

200,000 

a 

500,000 

a 

a 

369 

a 

a 

it 

500,000 

a 

1,000,000 

a 

a 

152 

a 

a 

il 

1,000,000 

and  over 

a 

a 

As  stated  above,  this  favored  class  receives 
18  per  cent  of  the  total  annual  national  income.  It 
is  very  probable  also  that  the  people  of  this  same 
group,  excluding  farmers,  own  a  very  large  share 

of  the  physical  property  of  the  nation ;  that  they 

99 


100  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

own  a  large  part  of  the  manufacturing  industries ; 
that  they  have  the  largest  holdings  of  the  invested 
wealth.  If  this  be  correct,  then  they  are  doubly 
responsible,  having  not  only  the  largest  incomes, 
but  also  a  very  large  share  of  the  national  wealth. 

Who  are  the  men  of  large  fortunes ?  A  promi¬ 
nent  business  man  has  said  that  investigation  will 
show  that  the  greatest  fortunes  have  come  to  men 
who  have  performed  great  and  far-reaching 
economic  services ;  that  the  men  who  had  the  faith 
and  the  daring  to  develop  the  resources  of  the 
country,  and  the  ability  to  organize  the  manufac¬ 
turing  processes  in  connection  with  them,  have 
rendered  a  necessary  service  to  the  country,  at 
the  same  time  they  were  amassing  great  fortunes. 
This  statement  is  undoubtedly  true.  One  needs 
only  to  call  the  roll  of  the  rich  men  of  the  country 
to  discover  that  many  of  them  grew  rich  out  of 
the  production  of  the  necessaries  of  our  common 
civilization.  These  men  have  had  the  genius  of 
organization.  They  have  been  gifted  with  the 
ability  of  management.  Some  have  had  the  gift 
of  the  seer.  They  have  seemingly  known  when 
and  where  great  fortunes  were  to  be  made.  Some 
have  had  the  ability  to  build  from  the  forces  of 
nature  and  society  the  foundations  upon  which 
great  fortunes  could  be  erected. 

While  the  Declaration  of  Independence  says 
that  “all  men  are  created  equal/ 9  we  all  know 
that  men  are  not  equal  in  capacity.  They  are 
equal  before  the  law,  and  are  entitled  to  equal 


Christian  Whose  Income  is  $5,000  or  More  101 

opportunity,  but  they  are  not  equal  in  nerve  and 
will  power  and  mentality.  They  are  not  equal  in 
the  ideals  which  lift  them.  They  are  not  equal 
in  heart  power.  They  are  not  equal  in  physical 
strength  and  endurance,  without  which  great 
achievements  along  many  lines  would  be  impos¬ 
sible.  Whether  we  like  it  or  no,  there  be  some 
who  are  “masters  of  men.”  These  are  the 
makers  and  molders  of  big  business.  These  are 
the  men  with  big  fortunes  and  big  incomes. 
Many  of  them  are  avowedly  Christian  men. 

Can  big  business  and  big  business  men  be  Chris¬ 
tian ?  Is  it  too  much  to  expect  rich  men  to  be 
Christian?  Why  shouldn’t  they  be?  If  teachers 
are  to  be  Christian,  if  ministers  are  to  be  Chris¬ 
tian,  if  average  men  are  to  be  Christian,  why 
shouldn’t  rich  men  be  Christian;  not  profes¬ 
sionally,  but  really?  Do  these  Christian  obliga¬ 
tions  extend  back  into  the  whole  realm  of  money¬ 
making?  If  so,  this  certainly  lays  upon  them 
added  responsibility  as  Christian  stewards.  It 
lays  upon  them  the  clear  responsibility  and  the 
inescapable  duty  of  Christianizing  the  money¬ 
making  processes  of  our  complicated  American 
civilization.  The  Christian  desires  a  Christian 
America.  If  America  is  to  be  Christian,  Ameri¬ 
can  industry  must  be  Christian;  American  com¬ 
merce  must  be  Christian ;  American  business  and 
banking  must  be  Christian ;  American  statesman¬ 
ship  must  be  Christian;  American  international 
relationships  must  be  Christian.  One  writer  has 


102  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

said  that  if  the  authority  of  Christ  stops  at  the 
hank  vaults  and  the  factory  gates,  and  outside  the 
storehouses  of  the  profiteers,  then  the  religion  of 
Christ  will  become  a  hissing  and  a  by-word. 

Yes,  big  business  can  be  Christianized.  It  must 
be.  But  it  will  have  to  be  done  by  big  Christian 
business  men.  They  can  evangelize  it.  They  can 
convert  it  from  the  error  of  its  present  way. 
They  can  make  it  confess  Christ  in  its  daily 
affairs.  As  the  high  priests  of  big  business,  they 
can  baptize  it  for  world  service  and  human  uplift 
into  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit. 
Is  this  sacrilege?  The  future  Christian  con¬ 
science  will  consider  it  sacriligious  not  to  do  so. 

The  Christian’s  motive  in  business .  The  Chris¬ 
tian  must  carefully  analyze  his  motives  in  money¬ 
making.  Are  men  in  business  for  themselves  or 
are  they  trying  to  help  Christ  extend  His  King¬ 
dom?  Are  the  large  incomes  to  be  secured  and 
used  for  self  or  for  service?  Henry  Ford  says: 
“It  is  wholly  desirable  to  re-shape  business  on 
the  basis  of  service.’ ’  He  states  that  the  business 
man’s  object  should  be  to  serve  the  largest  num¬ 
ber  of  people.  “A  truly  prosperous  time  is  when 
the  largest  number  of  people  are  getting  all  they 
can  legitimately  eat  and  wear,  and  are,  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  comfortable.  It  is  the  degree 
of  the  comfort  of  the  people  at  large — not  the  size 
of  the  manufacturer’s  bank  balance — that  evi¬ 
dences  prosperity. 

“The  function  of  the  manufacturer  is  to  con- 


Christian  Whose  Income  is  $5,000  or  More  103 

tribute  to  this  comfort.  He  is  an  instrument  of 
society,  and  be  can  serve  society  only  as  he 
manages  his  enterprises  so  as  to  turn  over  to  the 
public  an  increasingly  better  product  at  an  ever- 
decreasing  price,  and  at  the  same  time  to  pay  to 
all  those  who  have  a  hand  in  his  business  an 
ever-increasing  wage,  based  upon  the  work  they 
do.  In  this  way  and  in  this  way  alone  can  a  manu¬ 
facturer  or  any  one  in  business  justify  his 
existence.  ’  ’ 

This  is  going  in  the  right  direction.  Jesus 
said :  ‘ 1 1  am  among  you  as  he  that  serveth. ’  ’  We 
could  well  paraphrase  one  of  Jesus’  sayings  as 
follows:  “That  business  man  who  would  be 
greatest  among  you,  let  him  be  the  servant  of  all.” 

Edward  Bok,  in  his  wonderfully  interesting  vol¬ 
ume,  “The  Americanization  of  Edward  Bok,”  has 
this  to  say:  “The  American  business  man  has 
still  to  learn  that  man  cannot  live  by  bread  alone. 
The  making  of  money,  the  accumulation  of  ma¬ 
terial  power,  is  not  all  there  is  to  living.  Life  is 
something  more  than  these,  and  the  man  who 
misses  this  truth,  misses  the  greatest  joy  and  sat¬ 
isfaction  that  can  come  into  his  life — service  for 
others.” 

Another  angle  of  money -making .  The  two  ends 
of  business  are  making  and  marketing;  the  fac¬ 
tory  end,  and  the  selling  end.  Now,  the  Christian 
must  be  Christian  at  both  ends  of  the  transaction. 
An  example  here  may  be  in  order. 

A  well-known  manufacturer  is  making  quite  a 


104  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

reputation  for  trying  to  inaugurate  Christian 
ideals  in  his  factory.  His  employees  are  paid 
good  wages,  and  are  given  a  part  of  the  profits. 
They  are  given  responsibility  in  management. 
An  attempt  is  being  made  to  establish  Christian 
relationships  in  the  factory  between  the  owner 
and  the  employees.  To  all  intents  and  purposes, 
this  has  been  done.  But  the  question  arises,  “Is 
he  marketing  his  goods  in  a  Christian  way?”  Is 
he  gouging  the  public  in  the  marketing  of  the 
goods,  and  dividing  the  excess  profits  with  his 
employees?  Is  the  concern,  in  its  manufacturing 
end,  in  the  Christian  class,  and  in  its  selling  end 
in  the  class  of  the  profiteers?  This  would  be  a 
paradox. 

There  are  many  examples  the  reverse  of  this — 
where  business  concerns  put  a  good  article  on  the 
market  at  a  reasonable  price,  but  they  are 
un-Christian  in  the  matter  of  wages  and  condi¬ 
tions  of  labor  for  their  employees.  An  institution 
must  be  judged  by  its  total  impact  upon  society, 
from  its  handling  of  the  raw  material  every  step 
of  the  wav  to  the  ultimate  consumer.  As  no  chain 
is  stronger  than  its  weakest  link,  so  no  institution 
is  more  Christian  than  its  least  Christian  part. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  that  interesting  Englishman, 
Mr.  Gilbert  Chesterton,  said:  “Christianity  has 
not  been  tried  and  found  wanting;  it  has  been 
found  difficult  and  not  tried.” 

How  much  profit  can  the  Christian  take?  The 
question  may  well  be  raised  as  to  how  much  profit 


Christian  Whose  Income  is  $5,000  or  More  105 

a  man  can  take  and  still  remain  Christian.  What 
is  the  boundary  line  between  “honest  earnings 
and  business  shrewdness ;  between  business 
shrewdness  and  covetousness;  between  covetous¬ 
ness  and  actual  over-reaching;  between  over¬ 
reaching  and  unjust  gain;  between  unjust  gain 
and  profiteering  and  theft”?  When  does  a  man 
cease  to  be  an  honorable  business  man  and  be¬ 
come  a  profiteer  ?  Can  the  profiteer  be  a  Chris¬ 
tian?  Why  should  governmental  regulation  allow 
the  operators  of  the  railroads  only  6  per  cent  on 
their  investments,  and  then  keep  hands  off  of 
many  other  industries,  allowing  them  to  reap  a 
profit  of  100  per  cent  or  even  1,000  per  cent? 

Now  these  are  problems  largely  for  the  men 
whose  incomes  are  $5,000  a  year  and  over,  and 
to  the  solution  of  these  problems  Christian  men 
should  give  their  attention.  Human  happiness  is 
at  stake  here.  The  lives  and  souls  of  men  are  at 
stake.  Excess  profits  are  dangerous  to  the  indi¬ 
vidual,  are  unfair  to  society,  and  will  bring  re¬ 
proach  upon  Christ  and  His  church. 

It  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  remind  the  reader 
that  this  volume  makes  no  pretensions  of  being  a 
treatise  on  sociology  and  economics.  To  suggest 
the  details  of  applying  Christian  principles  to 
business  would  be  out  of  order.  When  the 
Christian  has  made  the  decision  to  run  his  busi¬ 
ness  in  harmony  with  the  Golden  Rule,  and  to 
measure  every  transaction  by  the  question, 
“What  would  Jesus  do  in  similar  circum- 


106  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

stances  V9  he  will  work  out  the  details  which  he 
knows  will  be  pleasing  to  his  Lord.  It  is  hoped 
that  these  pages  will  at  least  assist  in  stirring 
up  his  conscience  so  that  he  will  reach  such  a 
decision. 

How  much  can  a  Christian  spend  on  himself ? 
This  question  is  in  order  as  we  scan  this  list  of 
recent  expenditures  on  luxuries,  of  some  of  the 
so-called  “ leading’ ’  families: 

$7,000,000  for  a  mansion  with  121  rooms  for  one  family. 

300,000  for  a  pipe-organ. 

50,000  for  a  piano. 

10,000  for  a  cradle. 

38,000  for  a  washstand. 

65,000  for  a  dressing  table. 

20,000  for  a  hat. 

1,000  for  a  hatpin. 

75,000  for  opera  glasses. 

280,000  for  a  string  of  pearls. 

600,000  for  a  diamond  necklace. 

14,000  for  an  automobile  “with  an  interior  inlaid  with  sil¬ 
ver  and  quartered  mahogany  and  upholstered  in 
fawn  suede  and  morocco.” 

30,000  for  a  still  more  elaborate  automobile. 

When  this  list  was  first  published,  it  must  have 
made  Belshazzar  and  Tutankhamen  turn  over  in 
their  graves!  Imagine  Abraham  Lincoln  being 
rocked  in  a  $10,000  cradle !  Or  Frances  E. 
Willard  spending  $20,000  for  a  hat!  Or  Mary 
Slessor,  of  Calabar,  spending  $280,000  for  a 
string  of  pearls!  Or  Dr.  Albert  LeRoy  Shelton 
spending  $30,000  for  an  automobile!  All  of  this 
money  may  have  been  honestly  earned,  but  it  cer¬ 
tainly  was  not  spent  to  the  glory  of  God. 


Christian  Whose  Income  is  $ 5,000  or  More  107 

Were  any  of  these  reckless  spenders  church 
members,  followers  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus'? 
The  Son  of  Man  had  “not  where  to  lay  His  head,” 
but  one  of  his  modern  followers  must  have  a 
$7,000,000  residence.  One  twentieth  century 
woman  spends  $600,000  for  a  string  of  beads  to 
hang  around  her  neck, — enough  money  to  keep 
sixty  missionaries  on  the  foreign  field  for  ten 
years ! 

Who  are  these  people,  and  what  was  their  early 
training?  If  men  must  face  the  judgment  on  their 
methods  of  money-making,  they  must  also  be 
brought  to  judgment  on  money-spending.  It 
seems  incredible  that  men  could  waste  such  huge 
sums  for  selfish  gratification  in  the  face  of  an 
enlightened  public  Christian  conscience.  The 
church  has  a  message  for  such  as  these.  A  way 
must  be  found  to  deliver  that  message  so  that  the 
American  church  and  the  American  nation  may 
never  again  ‘be  disgraced  by  such  wasteful  and 
sinful  extravagance.  While  Christian  America 
wastes  her  money,  the  world  starves  for  the  bread 
of  life. 


Lord  God  of  Hosts, 

Forgive  us  yet, 

Lest  we  forget, 

Lest  we  forget. 

Are  rich  men  entitled  to  special  privileges?  It 
should  be  frankly  admitted  that  rich  men  must 
live  up  to  certain  standards.  There  are  social 
requirements  that  may  not  be  neglected.  The 


108  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

minister  must  maintain  higher  standards  of  liv¬ 
ing  than  the  janitor.  The  banker  must  dress 
better  than  the  plumber.  The  railroad  president 
cannot  live  as  economically  as  can  the  section 
hand.  The  business  man  who  deals  in  millions 
cannot  well  “live  up”  to  his  job  and  live  on  the 
same  scale  as  does  the  day  laborer.  Men  do  not 
expect  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
live  on  the  same  plane  as  does  the  police  judge. 

But  to  admit  this  does  not  mean  that  these  per¬ 
sons  are  in  a  privileged  class.  These  extra 
emoluments  and  expenditures  are  inherent  in  the 
job,  not  in  the  man.  No  man  has  any  special 
rights  over  his  fellows.  No  man  has  the  right  to 
claim  special  privileges  which  he  would  deny  his 
neighbors.  Each  individual  is  a  child  of  God  and 
a  member  of  society.  Neither  has  ever  granted 
him  or  will  ever  grant  him  special  rights  or  privi¬ 
leges.  The  only  way  he  may  secure  special 
privileges  is  by  setting  up  private,  selfish  claims, 
and  by  securing  and  maintaining  them  by  unfair, 
anti-social,  and  un-Christian  methods. 

This  point  is  emphasized  by  Dr.  Henry  Scott 
Holland,  of  Oxford,  when  he  says:  “The  indi¬ 
vidual  man  draws  all  his  significance  out  of  the 
fact  that  he  is  the  expression  of  some  social  body 
to  which  he  belongs.  He  is  a  member  of  his  race, 
of  his  nation;  on  that  depends,  in  fact,  his  indi¬ 
vidual  worth.  This  is  why  he  counts.  He  is  a 
sample  of  what  his  nationality  means.  Every 
claim  that  he  makes  for  himself  can  he  made  in 


Christian  Whose  Income  is  $5,000  or  More  109 

pressing  the  same  terms  for  others.  He  cannot 
give  himself  any  value  that  he  denies  to  others. 
As  he  rises  into  free  self-assertion,  so  these  others 
rise  all  around  him  with  identical  rights.  He  and 
they  are  created  by  the  same  act  and  under  the 
same  law.  He  can  never  be  intelligible  except  in 
terms  which  include  and  involve  others.  Indi¬ 
viduality  then  is  really  representative,  is  cor¬ 
porate,  is  social,  by  the  very  principle  of  its  life. 
It  can  only  be  understood  as  the  unit  of  a 
society.  .  .  . 

“It  is,  therefore,  impossible  to  emphasize  the 
reality  of  personal  existence  and  personal  claims, 
or  personal  liberty,  without  in  the  very  same 
breath  asserting  the  emphatic  reality  of  social 
obligation,  the  paramount  authority  of  the  social 
order,  the  sanctity  of  social  law.  .  .  . 

“The  individual  holds  what  he  can  call  his  own 
by  virtue  of  his  status  inside  the  fellowship;  and 
if  so,  the  justification  of  his  private  ownership 
must  always  be  found  in  the  welfare  and  the  will 
of  the  community.  He  must  be  expressing  the 
will  of  the  state  in  having  personal  authority  to 
administer  this  or  that  possession.  .  .  . 

“Any  demands  on  his  private  purse  which  the 
general  welfare  renders  expedient  are  not  inva¬ 
sions  of  his  personal  wealth,  nor  drafts  upon  his 
charity.  They  are  the  acts  of  that  identical 
justice  by  which  he  is  qualified  to  be  an 
owner.  ...  If  he  disputes  any  demand  made 
upon  him  it  will  be  on  the  ground  that  the  interest 


110  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

of  the  state  will  be  injured  by  its  insistence,  for 
he  is  himself  a  citizen  in  the  state,  and  its  inter¬ 
ests  are  his.” 

The  Lord’s  share  of  large  incomes .  Can  the 
setting  aside  of  10  per  cent  as  God’s  share  dis¬ 
charge  the  stewardship  obligations  of  this  favored 
class?  There  are  many  angles  of  approach  to  this 
question.  If  the  man  of  large  income  pays  but 
10  per  cent,  should  not  the  man  of  small  income 
give  less?  Or  if  the  average  man  pays  10  per 
cent,  does  he  not  have  a  right  to  expect  the 
wealthy  man  to  give  more? 

More  concretely  stated,  the  problems  are  these : 
Is  it  fair  for  the  man  of  moderate  income,  who 
has  a  large  family  and  who  is  paying  rent,  to  be 
asked  to  pay  10  per  cent  when  the  man  with  a 
large  income,  who  owns  his  home,  and  who  has  no 
children,  pays  but  10  per  cent?  Should  the  man 
with  an  income  of  $3,000  pay  10  per  cent,  leaving 
himself  only  $2,700  with  which  to  live,  while  the 
man  with  an  income  of  $30,000  pays  10  per  cent, 
leaving  $27,000  for  his  own  uses?  Many  urge 
that  there  is  inequality  here,  and  that  the  10  per 
cent  proposition  is  not  fair.  They  say  that  since 
the  distribution  of  wealth  is  not  equal,  and  the 
incomes  are  not  equal,  the  obligations  of  steward¬ 
ship  are  not  the  same. 

There  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  this  con¬ 
tention,  for  Christianity,  if  it  is  anything,  must 
be  fair  and  just.  The  church,  if  it  is  to  represent 
Christ  at  all,  must  represent  Him  properly  here 


Christian  Whose  Income  is  $5,000  or  More  111 

as  elsewhere.  The  church  is  not  in  the  business 
simply  of  getting  money  from  men.  Its  big  busi¬ 
ness  is  to  develop  Christian  men  and  Christian 
women  who  will  use  their  money  according  to 
Christ’s  wishes,  regardless  of  whether  their  in¬ 
comes  are  large  or  small.  Jesus  said:  4 ‘The 
Kingdom  of  God  is  within  you.  ’  ’  When  the  King¬ 
dom  of  God  comes  into  the  hearts  and  the  lives 
of  men,  it  will  move  them  to  help  establish  the 
Kingdom  throughout  the  world. 

Not  a  problem  of  men’s  relation  to  each  other . 
The  big  problem,  then,  is  not  the  relation  of  one 
man  to  another  in  the  giving  of  his  money.  It  is 
the  problem  rather  of  the  right  relation  of  all 
men  to  Christ.  J esus  taught  that  of  him  to  whom 
little  is  given,  little  shall  be  required.  It  has 
been  shown  that  the  average  family,  with  proper 
economy  and  system,  can  pay  10  per  cent  to  the 
Lord,  and  will  be  more  largely  interested  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Kingdom  if  it  does  so.  This  chapter 
is  dealing  not  with  them,  but  with  Christians 
whose  incomes  are  $5,000  and  over,  reaching  into 
the  millions  of  dollars. 

Jesus  taught  that  of  him  to  whom  much  is 
given,  much  shall  be  required.  The  Christian 
business  man,  with  an  income  of  $25,000,  certainly 
cannot  be  satisfied  with  merely  tithing.  The  man 
with  an  income  of  $100,000  a  year,  if  he  be  a 
Christian,  will  not  desire  to  spend  $90,000  in 
luxurious  living.  The  Christian  whose  income  is 
$1,000,000  a  year  cannot  possibly  spend  $900,000 


112  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

upon  himself  and  family  and  at  the  same  time 
please  his  Lord.  To  be  sure,  enough  capital  must 
remain  invested  in  business  to  produce  income. 
It  would  be  neither  wise  nor  Christian  to  ‘  ‘  scrap  ■ 1 
the  wealth-producing  industries. 

The  Associated  Press  recently  reported  the 
conversion  of  Fred  Stone,  the  noted  comedian. 
The  report  states  that  he  has  decided  to  dedicate 
a  tenth  of  his  income  for  Christian  purposes.  It 
is  also  stated  that  his  income  is  $125,000  a  year. 
When  Mr.  Stone  carefully  considers  all  the  impli¬ 
cations  of  his  Christian  profession,  he  will 
undoubtedly  decide  to  seek  out  avenues  of  service 
where  a  much  larger  percentage  of  his  income 
may  be  used  in  honoring  his  Savior  whom  he  has 
publicly  confessed. 

As  has  been  previously  stated,  it  is  mostly  the 
big  men  of  the  nation  wjio  are  receiving  these 
large  incomes ;  the  men  of  genius  in  organization, 
in  management;  the  pioneers  in  human  achieve¬ 
ment.  They  have  thereby  an  obligation  to  use 
this  talent,  as  well  as  their  money,  in  the  interests 
of  religion.  This  is  pioneer  territory.  No  one 
could  prophesy  what  might  be  accomplished  in 
one  generation  if  these  masters  of  men  and 
masters  of  wealth  would  dedicate  their  organizing 
abilities  and  their  fortunes  to  the  upbuilding  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 

How  much  shall  rich  men  give ?  The  principle 
of  the  income  tax  in  securing  revenue  for  the  gov¬ 
ernment  increases  the  percentage  as  the  incomes 


Christian  Whose  Income  is  $5,000  or  More  113 

increase,  so  that  the  incomes  of  $1,000,000  and 
over  pay  as  high  as  35  per  cent  to  the  govern¬ 
ment.  This  principle  is  correct.  But  when  men 
are  really  Christian,  they  can  be  left  to  decide  how 
much  they  will  need  to  keep  for  personal  and 
family  uses  and  how  much  can  be  set  aside  for  the 
uplift  of  society  and  the  glory  of  God.  How  much 
must  the  rich  man  give  ?  He  must  give  enough  to 
save  his  soul.  The  rich  man  must  be  able  to  say 
with  the  Apostle  Paul  at  the  end  of  his  journey: 
“I  (a  rich  man)  have  fought  the  good  fight;  I  (a 
rich  man)  have  finished  the  course ;  I  (a  rich  man) 
have  kept  the  faith;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up 
for  me  (a  rich  man),  the  crown  of  righteousness 
which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give 
to  me  (a  rich  man)  at  that  day;  and  not  to  me 
only,  but  also  to  all  them  (rich  men)  that  have 
loved  His  appearing.” 

That  many  men  are  catching  this  vision  of  the 
true  ideals  of  Christian  stewardship  is  evident  on 
every  hand.  One  man  produced  his  account  book 
on  January  1st,  showing  that  his  income  was 
$5,000  a  year,  and  that  he  had  given  for  all  chari¬ 
table  and  religious  purposes  $1,120.  Another 
whose  income  was  about  $11,000  a  year,  and  who 
had  just  begun  paying  10  per  cent,  had,  in  his  first 
year,  given  $1,200  to  religion.  Another  who  was 
engaged  in  the  manufacturing  business  reported 
that  he  had  given  away  in  a  single  year  40  per 
cent  of  his  income. 

It  is  encouraging  to  know  that  a  man  like  R.  A. 


114  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

Long,  wealthy  lumber  man,  has  given  away 
almost  $2,000,000,  while  yet  alive,  to  the  organized 
agencies  of  his  own  brotherhood,  while  continuing 
his  gifts  to  his  local  church  and  all  good  causes 
in  his  home  city  and  elsewhere.  M.  M.  Cochran, 
operator  of  coal  mines  in  Pennsylvania,  has  just 
given  $300,000  to  Bethany  College.  He  had  pre¬ 
viously  given  $700,000,  making  $1,000,000  he  has 
given  in  cash  to  this  one  institution,  while  yet 
living.  There  are  many  gifts,  even  larger  than 
these,  being  given  to  missionary,  benevolent, 
charitable,  and  educational  institutions. 

This  is  but  the  prophecy  and  forerunner  of  a 
better  day.  These  examples  are  like  leaven  hid  in 
three  measures  of  meal,  or  like  seed  com  on  top 
of  the  mountain.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  their 
example  and  influence,  together  with  all  other 
leavening  Christian  influences,  will  continue  until 
the  whole  lump  of  our  national  life  in  its  money¬ 
making,  money-spending,  and  money-giving  as¬ 
pects  shall  have  been  leavened. 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  VI 

1.  What  per  cent  of  the  American  people  receive  an  income 
of  $5,000  or  more? 

2.  Who  are  the  men  of  large  incomes?  Are  they  to  be 
commended  or  condemned? 

3.  Can  big  business  be  Christian?  What  should  be  the  busi¬ 
ness  motive  of  Christian  men? 

4.  What  are  the  two  ends  of  business?  Can  a  business  be 
Christian  if  but  one  phase  of  it  is  Christian? 

5.  How  much  profit  can  a  Christian  take?  Discuss  and 
illustrate  from  personal  observation. 

6.  Does  society  have  a  right  to  condemn  wasteful  expendi- 


Christian  Whose  Income  is  $5,000  or  More  115 

tures?  Why?  Can  a  person  remain  Christian  and  spend 
$38,000  for  a  washstand? 

7.  Discuss  the  question  as  to  whether  rich  men  are  entitled 
to  special  privileges?  Do  you  agree  with  the  position  as  given 
in  the  quotation  from  Dr.  Holland? 

8.  Should  the  wealthy  man  pay  a  higher  percentage  to  the 
church  than  the  poor  man?  What  did  Jesus  say  about  this? 
Is  the  government  principle  fair? 

9.  State  your  own  judgment  as  to  the  percentage  men 
should  give  who  have  incomes  of  $2,000,  $10,000,  $100,000, 
$1,000,000. 

10.  If  your  income  is  large,  are  you  definitely  sharing  for 
Christian  enterprises,  an  amount  sufficiently  large  to  satisfy 
your  own  conscience?  If  not,  can  you  analyze  your  motives 
and  tell  why? 


Chapter  VII:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE 
UNNAMED  SIN 


“And  he  said  unto  them,  Take  heed,  and  keep  yourselves 
from  all  covetousness;  for  a  man’s  life  consisteth  not  in  the 
abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesseth.” 

Luke  12: 15. 

“Come,  now,  ye  rich,  weep  and  howl  for  your  miseries  that 
are  coming  upon  you.  Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your 
garments  are  moth-eaten.  Your  gold  and  your  silver  are 
rusted;  and  their  rust  shall  be  for  a  testimony  against  you, 
and  shall  eat  your  flesh  as  fire.  Ye  have  laid  up  your  treasure 
in  the  last  days.  Behold  the  hire  of  the  laborers  who  mowed 
your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept  back  by  fraud,  crieth  out; 
and  the  cries  of  them  that  reaped  have  entered  into  the  ears 
of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.  Ye  have  lived  delicately  on  the 
earth,  and  taken  your  pleasure;  ye  have  nourished  your  hearts 
in  a  day  of  slaughter.  Ye  have  condemned,  ye  have  killed 
the  righteous  one;  he  doth  not  resist  you.” 

J ames  5 : 1-5. 

“Be  ye  free  from  the  love  of  money.” 

Hebrews  13:5 . 

“In  the  last  days  grievous  times  shall  come,  for  men  shall 
be  lovers  of  self,  of  money.  .  .  .” 

II  Timothy  3:1-2. 

“The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil.” 

I  Timothy  6:10 . 


Chapter  VII 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  UNNAMED  SIN 

THERE  is  a  sin  in  tlie  church  we  are  afraid 
to  mention ;  I  will  tell  you  what  its  common 
name  is,  what  its  aristocratic  name  is,  what  its 
historical  name  is,  and  what  its  scriptural  name 
is:  its  name  is  covetousness.” 

Francis  of  Assissi  said  that  people  had  come 
to  him  confessing  every  known  sin  except  the  sin 
of  covetousness;  that  never  in  all  of  his  experi¬ 
ence  had  any  one  come  frankly  confessing  that 
he  was  guilty  of  that  sin. 

The  first  set  of  written  laws  God  gave  to  the 
race  was  the  Ten  Commandments.  They  were 
written  on  tables  of  stone  that  they  might  not  be 
forgotten.  The  first  nine  dealt  with  man’s  rela¬ 
tion  to  God  and  neighbors  and  things.  The  tenth 
dealt  with  the  secret  places  of  the  heart  and  soul. 
It  was,  “Thou  shalt  not  covet.”  This  oldest  code 
of  the  moral  law  contains  the  warning  against 
covetousness.  Let  it  be  written  here  in  capital 
letters :  4  ‘  Thou  shalt  not  covet.  ’  ’  Place  along¬ 
side  of  this  the  statement  of  Jesus:  “Beware  of 

COVETOUSNESS. 9  y 

Covetousness  a  covert  sin.  The  dictionary 

definition  of  covetousness  is:  “to  inordinately 

119 


120  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

desire;  to  be  excessively  eager  to  possess.” 
Hence  covetousness  is  not  a  sin  of  the  hand  or 
the  body.  It  is  not  an  outward  act.  It  is  not 
written  in  the  laws  of  the  nation.  A  man  cannot 
be  arrested  for  covetousness.  He  cannot  be  fined 
or  sentenced  to  jail  upon  the  charge  of  being 
covetous.  Yet  more  is  said  in  the  Bible  against 
covetousness  than  against  any  other  two  sins. 
Why?  Because  covetousness,  which  is  an  attitude 
of  mind,  of  heart,  of  soul,  is  at  the  fountain  head 
of  desire  and  conduct.  The  wish  is  father  to 
the  thought,  and  the  thought  is  father  to  the  act. 
“As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart  so  is  he.”  Al¬ 
though  a  covert  or  secret  sin,  covetousness 
manifests  itself  outwardly. 

Bible  teachings  and  warnings .  The  blight  of 
covetousness  would  manifest  itself  even  if  there 
were  no  Bible  teaching  on  the  subject.  It  is  a 
modern  as  well  as  an  ancient  sin,  and  the  modern 
man  would  do  well  not  to  pass  by  lightly  these 
sign-boards  which  warn  him  of  its  pitfalls. 

How  familiar  is  this  sentiment  from  the  writer 
of  Ecclesiastes : 

“He  that  loveth  silver  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  silver,  nor 
he  that  loveth  abundance  with  increase.” 

Ecclesiastes  5:10. 

Ezekiel,  the  weeping  prophet,  had  a  keen  in¬ 
sight  into  human  nature,  and  lifted  up  his  voice 
against  ungodly  gain: 

“Thou  hast  taken  usury  and  increase,  and  thou  hast  greedily 
gained  of  thy  neighbors  by  extortion,  and  hast  forgotten  me, 


The  Christian  and  the  Unnamed  Sin  121 


sayeth  the  Lord  God.  Behold  therefore,  I  have  smitten  mine 
hand  at  thy  dishonest  gain.  .  .  .” 


Ezekiel  22:12-13. 


Job,  the  richest  man  of  his  day,  knew  well  the 
foolishness  of  putting  his  trust  in  gold: 

“If  I  have  made  gold  my  hope  or  have  said  to  the  fine  gold, 
Thou  art  my  confidence,  if  I  rejoiced  because  my  wealth  was 
great  and  because  mine  hand  had  gotten  much,  .  .  .  this  also 
were  an  iniquity.” 

Job  31 : 24,  25,  28. 

Jesus  tried  to  win  men  from  that  which  con¬ 
sumes  and  destroys  to  the  great  and  inde¬ 
structible  things  of  life: 

“Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  where 
moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt  and  where  thieves  break  througU 
and  steal.  But  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven, 
where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves 
do  not  break  through  nor  steal;  for  where  your  treasure  is, 
there  will  your  heart  be  also.” 

Matthew  6 : 19-21. 


Paul  classed  covetousness  with  other  gross 
sins: 


“Being  filled  with  all  unrighteousness,  fornication,  wicked¬ 
ness,  covetousness,  maliciousness.” 


Romans  1:  29. 


Paul  also  wrote  to  Timothy: 

“But  they  that  will  be  rich  fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare 
and  into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts  which  drown  men  in 
destruction  and  perdition ;  for  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of 
all  evil;  which,  while  some  coveted  after,  they  have  erred 
from  the  faith  and  pierced  themselves  through  with  many 
sorrows.  But  thou,  oh  man  of  God,  flee  these  things  and 
follow  after  righteousness,  godliness,  faith,  love,  patience, 
meekness.” 


I  Timothy  6:9-11. 


122  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

New  Testament  examples  of  covetousness.  The 
New  Testament  is  a  picture  gallery  of  rich  men 
who  became  covetous,  apostates,  traitors, — who 
lost  their  souls  through  the  love  of  money. 

Judas  was  a  man  of  high  attainments;  he  was 
given  a  position  of  honor  and  responsibility 
among  the  apostles;  he  was  treasurer  of  the 
group.  However  many  evil  tendencies  influenced 
him,  and  covetousness  had  a  strong  grip  upon  his 
soul.  He  sold  his  Lord  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver. 

Three  of  the  Gospel  writers  wrote  down  the 
story  of  the  rich  young  ruler.  No  doubt  all  of 
the  apostles  and  the  seventy  knew  the  story  of 
this  young  man  who  had  been  ensnared  by  the 
“ deceitfulness  of  riches.’ ’  Mark  says  that  he 
“went  away  grieved,  because  he  had  great  pos¬ 
sessions.”  He  was  at  the  point  where  he  had 
to  choose  between  his  possessions  and  his  Lord. 
The  roots  of  his  money  had  become  entwined 
about  his  soul.  In  choosing  to  keep  his  money, 
he  denied  his  Lord.  No  wonder  he  went  away 
sorrowful.  Dante  has  called  this  the  “Great 
Kefusal.” 

The  story  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus  almost 
makes  one  shudder.  The  rich  man ’s  whole  earthly 
existence  is  summed  up  in  two  short  verses.  That 
was  enough  to  tell  the  whole  story  of  his  selfish 
and  covetous  life. 

“There  was  a  certain  rich  man  which  was  clothed  in  purple 
and  fine  linen  and  fared  sumptuously  every  day.  .  .  .” 

“The  rich  man  also  died  and  was  buried.” 

Luke  16 : 19,  22. 


The  Christian  and  the  Unnamed  Sin  123 

But  after  that,  the  judgment !  How  could  such 
a  man  dwell  in  happiness  throughout  eternity! 
In  his  agony  he  cried  out : 

“Send  him  (Lazarus)  to  my  father’s  house,  for  I  have  five 
brethren;  that  he  may  testify  unto  them  lest  they  also  come 
into  this  place  of  torment.” 

Luke  16:27-28. 

The  answer  which  came  back  to  that  rich  man 
was  sufficient  for  him  and  for  all  rich  men  of  the 
present  day : 

“If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets  (and  Christ), 
neither  will  they  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead.” 

Luke  16 : 31. 

In  some  respects,  a  still  more  tragic  story  is 
found  in  the  parable  of  the  rich  farmer.  (Luke 
12: 16-21.)  With  his  new  barns  filled  to  overflow¬ 
ing,  he  said:  “I  will  say  to  my  soul,  Soul,  thou 
hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years.  Take 
thine  ease ;  eat,  drink  and  be  merry.  ’ ’ 

This  is  not  simply  a  first  century  parable,  it  is 
a  chapter  out  of  twentieth  century  life.  In  dis¬ 
cussing  this  parable,  the  chief  emphasis  has  usu¬ 
ally  been  placed  upon  the  fact  that  the  man  was 
brought  to  quick  judgment.  “This  night  is  thy 
soul  required  of  thee.,,  But  that  was  not  the  big 
point.  The  real  tragedy  was  this:  that  the  man 
had  become  so  materialistic  in  his  outlook  on  life 
that  he  expected  to  nurture  his  soul  on  the  grain 
which  he  had  piled  up  in  his  barns.  Think  of  it — 
“Soul,  .  .  .  eat,  drink  and  be  merry”!  That 
sounds  almost  as  if  it  had  been  taken  from  yester- 


124  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

day’s  newspaper.  Is  it  possible  that  men  think 
they  can  bring  their  souls  down  to  the  level  of 
their  stomachs?  That  men  will  degrade  their 
souls  by  attempting  to  gorge  them  with  that  which 
can  only  satisfy  the  body?  What ’kind  of  a  soul 
does  a  man  have  who  tries  to  feed  it  on  corn  and 
beefsteak,  and  stocks  and  bonds? 

Surely  sometime  men  ought  to  learn  that  the 
soul  feeds  on  love,  worship,  adoration,  purity, 
consecration,  sacrifice, — the  things  which  cannot 
be  piled  into  barns, — the  things  which  money 
cannot  buy, — the  godlike  qualities  in  human  per¬ 
sonality  which  go  to  make  up  greatness  and 
highmindedness  and  Christ-likeness. 

A  great  editorial  on  covetousness.  The  “St. 
Louis  Star”  recently  published  in  its  Sunday  edi¬ 
tion  a  cartoon  entitled,  “If  He  Lose  His  Own 
Soul.”  It  shows  a  man  surrounded  by  his  bags 
of  wealth.  Stacked  up  around  him  are  huge  sums 
of  money,  silver  and  gold  and  great  piles  of 
currency.  In  his  hand  is  a  big  cluster  of  bills. 
He  is  well  dressed.  Over  his  right  ear  is  a  sharp¬ 
ened  pencil.  His  nose  glasses  are  on,  ready  for 
business.  His  hair  is  somewhat  tousled.  The 
artist  has  put  upon  his  face  and  in  his  eyes  the 
sardonic  expression  of  Mephistopholes.  Some 
distance  away,  starting  up  a  mystic  path,  is  his 
soul,  holding  up  its  hand  in  farewell  salute.  His 
soul  had  to  leave  him.  It  had  been  crowded  out. 
It  could  not  live  in  that  environment.  Following 


The  Christian  and  the  Unnamed  Sin  125 

the  cartoon  is  a  great  editorial  which  is  a  sermon 
in  itself,  upon  the  text : 

“For  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole 
world,  and  lose  his  own  soul1?” 

It  is  so  apropos  to  this  discussion  that  parts  of 
it  are  quoted  here : 

“This  is  no  imaginary  picture.  You  cannot  see 
the  soul  with  your  physical  eyes,  but  many  souls 
are  walking  away  from  men  that  own  them,  while* 
those  men  count  the  money  they  have,  or  grasp 
for  more.  .  .  . 

“The  soul  is  not  always  lost  in  death,  all  at 
once,  to  go  somewhere  below  and  be  burned  up 
forever,  or  somewhere  above  to  be  happy.  Some¬ 
times  there  is  another  loss  of  the  soul,  gradual, 
day  by  day,  as  dull  selfishness  grows,  and  the  soul 
dwindles  away,  like  water  oozing  from  a  leaky 
barrel.  .  .  . 

“If  you  could  get  inside  the  minds  of  some  men 
concentrated  on  money-making,  you  would  know 
that  this  picture  is  true.  Love  of  nature  and  our 
fellow  man  expands,  and  love  of  money  contracts 
the  soul.  The  two  cannot  work  together.  .  .  . 

“It  is  the  soul  that  feels,  lives,  ex  joys,  and  all 
that  is  driven  out  when  avariciousness,  love  of 
mere  money  comes  in  to  possess  the  entire 
mind.  .  .  . 

“  ‘The  Heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God.’ 
That  psalm  was  not  written  for  the  man  in  this 
picture,  for  the  voice  of  the  firmament  does  not 
reach  into  the  mind  or  the  heart  of  a  man  that 


126  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

has  transformed  himself  into  an  adding  machine, 
and  stays  in  his  counting  house  like  a  devil  fish 
under  a  rock,  watching  for  something  to  come 
within  reach  that  may  be  seized  and  pulled  in.  .  .  . 

“Get  up,  run  after  your  soul  that  is  walking 
away  from  you.  You  can  overtake  it  if  you 
choose.  .  . 

Temptations  of  wealth.  With  such  warnings 
before  us,  it  is  in  order  to  discuss  the  temptations 
which  come  from  riches.  ‘  ‘  They  that  will  be  rich 
fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare.’ ’  There  is  a 
law  in  physics  that  no  two  bodies  can  occupy  the 
same  space  at  the  same  time.  This  law  holds 
true  in  spiritual  affairs.  The  love  of  money 
crowds  out  the  love  of  men  and  the  love  of  God. 
This  was  expressed  by  the  Master  when  He  said: 
“No  man  can  serve  two  masters;  for  either  he 
will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other,  or  else  he 
will  hold  to  the  one  and  despise  the  other.  Ye 
cannot  serve  God  and  mammon.”  It  is  self- 
evident  that  wealth  whether  it  be  much  or  little 
brings  its  temptations  with  it.  Men  who  seek 
wealth  do  not  always  remember  this.  What  are 
some  of  these  temptations? 

1.  Temptation  to  trust  in  riches.  The  power 
of  wealth  exercises  a  peculiar  influence  over  men. 
To  thousands,  the  securing  of  money  is  the 
supreme  aim  of  life.  When  it  is  secured,  it  be¬ 
comes  the  center  and  the  circumference  of  their 
existence.  They  talk  money;  they  almost  breathe 
money;  they  put  their  trust  in  money.  They  do 


The  Christian  and  the  Unnamed  Sin  127 

not  feel  the  need  of  any  power  other  than  the 
power  of  money.  They  have  said  to  gold :  “Thou 
art  my  confidence.”  They  forget  the  statement 
of  Jesus:  “How  hard  is  it  for  them  that  trust 
in  riches  to  enter  the  Kingdom  of  God.” 

2.  Temptation  to  be  selfish.  The  wealthy  man 
has  no  need  to  be  selfish,  but  very  often  a  selfish 
spirit  is  developed  by  those  who  have  wealth. 
“The  covetous  person  lives  as  if  the  world  were 
made  for  him,  and  not  he  for  the  world.”  The 
‘ ‘  Spectator”  said :  “You  cannot  behold  a  covetous 
spirit  walk  by  a  goldsmith’s  shop  without  casting 
a  wistful  eye  at  the  heaps  upon  the  counter.” 
“Men  shall  be  lovers  of  their  own  selves, 
covetous.”  How  quickly  covetousness  narrows  a 
man’s  own  life  as  well  as  destroys  his  influence  in 
society ! 

3.  Temptation  to  be  idle.  Much  has  been  said 
about  the  “idle  rich.”  Some  one  has  said  that 
“the  idle  man’s  brain  is  the  devil’s  work-shop.” 
No  man  can  be  truly  happy  or  useful  who  is  idle. 
Self-realization  is  possible  only  through  work.  A 
man  may  say:  “I  have  enough  money  so  that  I 
do  not  have  to  work  any  more  as  long  as  I  live.” 
God  pity  the  man  who  loafs  because  he  can.  God 
will  bless  the  man  who  jvorks  because  he  wants 
to,  even  if  he  doesn’t  have  to.  A  man  may  not 
be  compelled  to  work  for  a  living,  but  he  is  com¬ 
pelled  to  work  to  keep  his  soul.  It  grows  on  work, 
on  helpfulness,  sympathy,  usefulness,  sacrifice. 

4.  Temptation  to  be  wasteful  and  extravagant. 


128  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

The  list  of  luxuries  in  another  chapter  shows  how 
foolish  and  wasteful  many  rich  men  are.  Waste¬ 
fulness  and  extravagance  are  fast  becoming  social 
and  national  sins.  It  is  time  for  pause  when  our 
luxury  bill  is  twelve  times  higher  than  our  bill 
for  education  and  at  least  twenty  times  higher 
than  our  bill  for  religion.  A  recent  cartoon  in  a 
daily  paper  entitled  “The  Progress  of  Democ¬ 
racy/ ?  shows  a  policeman  bringing  a  man  before 
the  judge  and  charging,  “Your  honor,  this  man 
committed  the  sin  of  gluttony.  ’  ’  Why  not  ?  May 
not  our  democracy  yet  lead  us  to  that  place  where 
the  public  conscience  will  condemn  gluttony  and 
excessive  luxury  along  every  line! 

5.  Temptation  to  develop  class  prejudice.  It  is 
the  rich  people  who  develop  a  feeling  that  they 
are  better  than  others  simply  because  they  have 
money  and  belong  to  exclusive  cliques  and  clubs. 
Paul  said:  “Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this 
world  that  they  be  not  high-minded.  ’ *  How  splen¬ 
did  if  all  classes  of  society  could  realize  this  vision 
from  Evangeline : 

“Thus  dwelt  together  in  love  these  simple  Acadian  farmers, — 

Dwelt  in  the  love  of  God  and  of  man.  Alike  were  they 
free  from 

Fear,  that  reigns  with  the  tyrant,  and  envy,  the  vice  of 
republics. 

Neither  locks  had  they  to  their  doors,  nor  bars  to  their 
windows ; 

But  their  dwellings  were  open  as  day  and  the  hearts  of  their 
owners ; 

There  the  richest  was  poor,  and  the  poorest  lived  in  abun¬ 
dance.” 


The  Christian  and  the  Unnamed  Sin  129 

6.  Temptation  to  pamper  children.  The  chil¬ 
dren  of  many  rich  people  never  learn  to  work. 
The  public  school  teachers  testify  that  these  chil¬ 
dren  are  rarely  the  best  students.  They  do  not 
desire  to  live  under  authority.  They  want  special 
privileges.  Often  the  greatest  calamity  that  can 
befall  growing  children  is  to  have  their  parents 
come  into  possession  of  great  wealth. 

7.  Temptation  to  lower  physical  and  moral 
standards.  The  idle  rich  usually  grow  flabby, 
physically  and  morally.  Their  moral  stamina 
deteriorates.  Many  men  who  in  average  circum¬ 
stances  are  upright  and  honorable  and  religious, 
often  fall  when  they  secure  great  wealth.  This 
manifests  itself  sometimes  even  to  the  second 
and  third  generation. 

“Ill  fares  the  land,  to  hastening1  ills  a  prey, 

Where  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay.” 

8.  Temptation  to  forget  God  and  religion.  A 
volume  could  be  written  on  this  theme.  “  Which 
(money)  while  some  coveted  after,  they  have 
erred  from  the  faith,  and  pierced  themselves 
through  with  many  sorrows.’ ’  “When  he  struck 
gold,  he  forgot  God.”  That  is  an  epitomized 
biography  of  many  men  of  wealth.  It  is  strange, 
but  true,  that  men  are  “inordinately  desirous” 
of  obtaining  that  which  may  steal  away  their  love 
of  God,  and  destroy  all  the  finer  instincts  of  their 
souls. 

Now,  it  is  not  argued  here  that  all  people  who 


130  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

secure  wealth  fall  into  these  temptations.  But 
the  temptations  are  there,  and  every  man  must  be 
on  his  guard  if  he  is  to  escape  them.  It  is  a  rare 
man  who  can  successfully  ride  upon  the  wave  of 
prosperity  unless  his  faith  and  hope  are  anchored 
in  the  love  of  God. 

A  church  member  who  became  a  pagan.  A  man 
in  an  eastern  state  discovered  oil  and  gas,  and 
two  kinds  of  coal  on  his  farm.  He  became  ex¬ 
tremely  wealthy,  and  in  the  process  he  also 
became  greedy  and  selfish.  When  asked  for  a 
gift  to  help  build  a  mission  steamer  for  Africa, 
he  refused  to  give  a  dollar.  His  eyes  had  become 
the  eyes  of  the  miser.  His  clutching  hands  had 
become  the  hands  of  the  miser.  Tremblingly  he 
said:  “ I  worked  hard  for  this  money.  I  want  to 
keep  it  a  little  while  longer.’ ’  He  failed  to  re¬ 
member  that  God  was  the  Creator  of  this  wealth 
which  he  had  discovered  stored  up  under  his  farm. 
This  man  had  been  baptized  forty  years  before, 
but  his  contribution  to  the  church  through  all 
those  years  had  never  exceeded  $10.00  per  year. 

Imagine  the  condemnation  that  is  heaped  upon 
such  a  man  in  the  community  where  he  lives.  He 
had  really  become  as  much  of  a  pagan  as  if  he 
had  been  living  in  the  jungles  of  Africa  or  in  the 
heart  of  India.  A  pagan,  and  a  member  of  the 
Christian  Church !  His  god  was  the  god  of  gold. 
He  worshiped  money.  His  life  and  time  and 
energy  were  expended  in  hoarding,  and  brooding 
over  money.  If  men  in  the  church  become  covetous 


The  Christian  and  the  Unnamed  Sin  131 

and  pagan,  lacking  in  all  the  Christian  ideals  of 
stewardship,  it  is  evidence  that  the  Gospel  teach¬ 
ing  on  money  has  heen  neglected. 

Rich  people  need  the  ministry  of  the  church. 
Most  certainly  the  church  has  a  duty  to  perform 
in  saving  wealthy  people.  Many  of  them  are 
lonely.  They  have  gathered  around  them  a  group 
of  selfish  souls  like  themselves.  Often  they  do 
not  know  what  to  do  with  their  money,  or  how  it 
might  he  used  in  bringing  joy  and  happiness  into 
the  world.  Many  of  them  would  welcome  a 
straightforward,  wholesome  suggestion  about  the 
best  use  of  their  surplus  wealth.  The  church 
needs  to  help  save  them  from  wealth  and  the  sins 
into  which  wealth  leads  them. 

We  criticize  most  severely  the  stingy  man,  the 
covetous  man,  and  the  4  ‘  tightwad.  ’ ’  But  a  plea 
is  made  here  in  behalf  of  the  “tightwad.”  We 
made  him.  By  its  lack  of  education  and  its  silence 
on  the  subject  of  money,  the  church  has  created 
the  “tightwad.”  Now  that  it  has  a  quickened 
conscience  on  the  subject,  shall  it  turn  “and  rend 
him”  or  excommunicate  him?  Not  so.  The 
church  must  labor  long  and  patiently  with  those 
whom  it  has  failed  to  teach,  and  try  to  win  them 
back  from  the  error  into  which  they  have  fallen 
because  of  the  neglect  of  the  church.  The  church 
must  be  made  a  place  where  men  are  won  from 
lives  of  avariciousness  and  greed,  to  lives  of  use¬ 
fulness  and  unselfish  service. 

Minister’s  duty  toward  covetous  men.  The 


132  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

minister  is  the  minister  of  the  rich  as  well  as  of 
the  poor.  Their  souls  are  as  precious  in  the  sight 
of  God  as  are  the  souls  of  the  common  people,  and 
the  minister  cannot  escape  his  responsibilities  to 
them.  He  has  a  duty  toward  covetous  men. 
Covetousness  is  a  sin.  The  covetous  man  is  a 
sinner.  ‘ 4  The  wages  of  sin  is  death/ ’  The  min¬ 
ister  exercises  his  leadership  and  spiritual  over¬ 
sight  toward  those  who  sin  in  other  ways.  If  a 
member  of  his  church  drinks  or  gambles  or  falls 
into  other  gross  sins,  the  preacher  feels  it  his 
right  and  duty  to  go  at  once  and  win  him  back 
to  Christian  living.  No  one  denies  him  that  right, 
or  criticizes  him  for  the  performance  of  his  duty. 

The  man  who  is  getting  rich,  or  who  has  become 
rich,  and  at  the  same  time  has  grown  covetous, 
needs  the  oversight  of  the  minister.  He  is  betray¬ 
ing  Christ  and  the  church  just  as  much  as  the 
drunkard  or  the  gambler.  The  selfish  rich  man 
is  condemned  by  the  Scriptures  and  by  society. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  ask  him  to  give  up  his 
money,  but  it  is  necessary,  if  he  is  to  continue  as 
a  Christian,  for  him  to  give  up  the  love  of  money. 
He  must  cease  to  covet  money,  and  the  things 
that  money  will  buy.  Otherwise  he  has  no  part 
in  the  Kingdom. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  have  a  million  dollars  to 
be  guilty  of  covetousness.  A  person  with  a  thou¬ 
sand  dollars,  or  five  thousand  or  with  nothing, 
may  be  as  stingy  and  miserly  and  selfish  as  the 
man  of  large  means.  Those  who  have  little  but 


The  Christian  and  the  Unnamed  Sin  133 

who  are  envious,  who  hanker  after  ease  and 
money  and  things,  who  covet  wealth  to  escape 
work  and  responsibility,  are  as  guilty  of  the 
“unnamed  sin”  as  if  they  actually  had  the  money. 
Covetousness  is  not  the  thing,  it  is  the  “in¬ 
ordinate  desire”  for  the  thing.  Wherever  the 
disease  of  covetousness  is  found,  whether  among 
wealthy  people  or  poor  people,  it  should  have  the 
attention  of  the  minister,  who  is  the  healer  of  sick 
souls. 

How  the  minister  and  the  church  can  help. 
How  can  the  minister  and  the  church  best  save 
men  from  covetousness  ? 

1.  By  frequent  sermons  on  wealth  and  its  temp¬ 
tations  and  also  on  its  proper  uses.  Men  usually 
do  what  they  have  been  taught.  Let  the  minister 
look  over  his  sermon  notes  for  the  last  five  years 
and  he  will  discover  how  he  has  neglected  his 
public  teaching  on  money  and  stewardship.  Much 
is  said  about  Gospel  preaching.  No  man  is  a 
Gospel  preacher  who  does  not  preach  the  Gospel 
of  stewardship  and  warn  men  against  the  sin  of 
covetousness.  One  minister  wrote:  “I  was 
amazed  to  find  that  I  had  not  preached  one  sermon 
on  the  money  question  in  four  years.” 

But  to  warn  men  of  the  precipice  is  not  enough ; 
they  must  be  shown  the  road  of  safety.  The  pos¬ 
sibilities  and  great  opportunities  of  social  uplift, 
and  world  redemption  should  be  suggested  to 
them.  They  have  a  right  to  know. 

2.  By  friendly  conference  and  advice.  This  is 


134  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

personal  work.  In  the  quiet  of  office  or  home,  men 
may  often  be  won  by  frank  and  sincere  presenta¬ 
tion  of  the  problem.  A  man  once  sent  for  his 
minister  to  call  at  bis  place  of  business.  In  his 
private  office,  with  the  door  locked,  he  confessed 
that  be  was  frightened  at  his  growing  wealth  and 
power.  He  said:  ‘ 4 With  all  this  wealth  in  my 
possession,  I  do  not  even  know  how  to  pray.” 
The  minister  taught  him  to  pray  with  the  map 
of  the  world  before  him,  and  to  visualize  its 
needs  and  opportunities.  A  new  life  purpose 
came  to  this  man  when  he  got  it  straight  that  in¬ 
creasing  wealth  could  be  directly  related  to  the 
increasing  Kingdom.  He  is  a  wise  and  useful 
minister  who  knows  how  to  do  personal  work  with 
the  “ kings  of  finance.” 

3.  By  systematic  stewardship  teaching  in  the 
Bible-school.  Here  is  a  great,  undeveloped  field. 
The  whole  problem  may  he  solved  here  if  the 
church  is  sensitive  to  the  situation  and  alert  in 
its  educational  program  on  the  subject.  The 
program  of  missionary  education  must  open  up 
avenues  of  service  upon  which  the  young  feet 
of  the  children  may  enter.  Stewardship  seed, 
planted  on  the  “good  ground”  of  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  Sunday-school  pupils  to-day  will  bring 
forth  a  hundredfold  crop  of  Christian  stewards 
to-morrow. 

4.  By  the  wise  distribution  of  pamphlets  and 
books.  There  is  much  being  written  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  to-day,  some  good  and  some  not  so  good; 


The  Christian  and  the  Unnamed  Sin  135 

some  from  the  legalistic  point  of  view  and  some 
from  the  life  point  of  view.  The  latter  are  sug¬ 
gestive  and  helpful.  Much  is  written  in  the  daily 
papers  and  magazines  which  bears  indirectly  on 
a  man’s  relation  to  his  money. 

5.  By  selecting  church  officers  who  are  above 
reproach.  Strong,  upright,  clean  men  as  church 
officers  will  do  much  toward  influencing  the  whole 
membership.  Church  leadership  always  carries 
with  it  the  implications  of  high  Christian  charac¬ 
ter.  On  this  point  Moses  taught: 

“Moreover  thou  shalt  provide  out  of  all  the  people  able  men 
such  as  fear  God,  men  of  truth,  hating  covetousness.” 

Exodus  18:21. 

Paul  gave  instructions  to  elders  and  deacons  in 
no  unmistakable  terms: 

“A  bishop  (elder)  then  must  be  blameless  .  .  .  not  given  to 
wine,  no  striker,  not  greedy  of  filthy  lucre,  but  patient,  not 
a  brawler,  not  covetous.  .  .  .  Moreover,  he  must  have  a  good 
report  to  them  which  are  without.” 

I  Timothy  3:2,  3,  7. 

“Likewise  must  the  deacons  be  grave,  not  double-tongued, 
not  given  to  much  wine,  not  greedy  of  filthy  lucre  .  .  .  and  let 
these  also  first  be  proved,  then  let  them  use  the  office  of 
deacon,  being  found  blameless.” 

I  Timothy  3:8,  10. 

The  ideals  of  Christian  stewardship  ought  to 
thrive  and  grow  in  a  church  whose  officers  are 
living  up  to  such  standards  as  these. 

Conclusion  of  the  whole  matter.  The  unnamed 
sin  must  be  named  out  in  the  public  meeting  place. 
All  its  hideous  and  contaminating  influences  and 


136  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

consequences  must  be  made  known.  The  innocent 
child  will  not  lie  down  with  the  serpent  if  he 
knows  the  serpent  has  poisonous  fangs.  The 
Christian  and  the  unnamed  sin  cannot  safely 
dwell  together.  The  Christian  spirit  and  the 
covetous  spirit  in  the  same  man  or  the  same 
church,  is  like  a  house  divided  against  itself.  The 
church  of  the  living  God  must  be  purged  from 
the  evil  spirit  of  covetousness. 

So  we  apply  again  the  test  of  Christian  disciple- 
ship.  As  man’s  outward  acts  must  be  Christian; 
as  his  contacts  with  his  neighbors  must  be  Chris¬ 
tian;  so  must  the  secret  places  in  his  mind  be 
Christian ;  the  desires  of  his  heart  must  be  Chris¬ 
tian;  and  so  must  the  innermost  recesses  of  his 
soul  be  Christian. 

a 

“Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  righteousness 
of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  heaven.” 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  VH 

1.  What  is  covetousness?  Why  is  it  called  the  unnamed 
sin?  Do  you  consider  it  as  dangerous  a  sin  as  drunkenness 
or  burglary? 

2.  Give  some  Bible  teachings  and  warnings  against  covet¬ 
ousness. 

3.  Give  three  examples  of  covetousness  from  the  New 
Testament. 

4.  Discuss  the  cartoon  and  editorial  on  covetousness. 

5.  Name  the  eight  temptations  of  wealth  given  in  this 
chapter.  Can  you  name  and  illustrate  others? 

6.  Why  do  rich  people  need  the  ministry  of  the  church? 
What  is  the  minister’s  duty  to  them? 

7.  Name  five  ways  by  which  the  minister  and  church  may 
help. 


The  Christian  and  the  Unnamed  Sin  137 

8.  Have  you  ever  prayed  for  covetous  men?  Have  you 
ever  done  personal  work  to  win  them?  If  not,  do  you  not 
now  feel  that  there  is  a  neglected  duty  here  which  Christians 
must  perform? 


Chapter  VIII:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  IN¬ 
TANGIBLE  WEALTH 


“Now  faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen.” 


Hebrews  11:1 . 


“Finally,  brethren,  whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever 
things  are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever 
things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever 
things  are  of  good  report;  if  there  be  any  virtue,  and  if 
there  be  any  praise,  think  on  these  things.” 

Philippians  4 : 8. 

.  .  even  as  the  son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many.” 

Matthew  20:28. 

“While  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the 
things  which  are  not  seen;  for  the  things  which  are  seen  are 
temporal;  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal.” 

11  Corinthians  4:18. 


“But  as  ye  abound  in  everything,  in  faith,  and  utterance, 
in  knowledge,  and  in  all  earnestness,  and  in  your  love  to  us, 
see  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace  also.” 


II  Corinthians  8:7. 


Chapter  VIII 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  INTANGIBLE  WEALTH 

THE  new  Standard  dictionary  gives  a  defi¬ 
nition  of  wealth  as  follows:  “Large  posses¬ 
sions;  a  comparative  abundance  of  things  which 
are  objects  of  human  desire;  abundance  of 
worldly  estate ;  affluence ;  riches.  ’  ’  This  definition 
is  correct  as  far  as  the  material  and  physical 
wealth  is  concerned,  but  there  is  also  an  intangible 
wealth,  an  invisible  wealth.  Wealth  to-day  is 
thought  of  as  that  which  has  value  in  exchange. 
Air  and  sunshine  have  value;  we  could  not  exist 
without  them.  But  they  cannot  be  bargained  for 
or  sold  in  the  public  market.  But  there  is  in¬ 
tangible  wealth  that  has  value  in  exchange. 

Examples  of  intangible  wealth .  The  fame  of  a 
good  newspaper  is  its  greatest  commercial  asset. 
If  the  building  burns  down  and  the  machinery  is 
destroyed,  that  does  not  destroy  the  newspaper. 
It  is  the  circulation,  the  fame,  the  place  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  that  makes  it  valuable.  It 
may  even  be  printed  on  the  presses  of  a  competi¬ 
tor,  and  may  have  no  physical  property  at  all,  and 
still  maintain  its  value. 

Another  example  of  intangible  wealth  is  seen 

141 


142  The  Christian  and  Mis  Money  Problems 

when  a  young  doctor  buys  out  the  practice  of  an 
aged  physician  who  is  ready  to  retire.  The  young 
doctor  buys  the  building,  instruments,  drugs, 
books, — the  physical  equipment,  but  he  also  buys 
the  “practice  and  good- will’ 9  of  the  older  phy¬ 
sician.  What  is  the  most  valuable  thing  he  buys  ? 
Is  it  the  building?  No,  it  is  the  “practice  and 
good-will” — the  intangible  wealth  of  the  older 
man. 

Patents,  copyrights,  trademarks,  etc.,  are  also 
in  this  class  of  intangible  wealth.  Why  can  a  man 
be  sued  for  infringing  on  a  copyright?  It  is  be¬ 
cause  the  copyright  is  intangible  wealth.  The 
potential  and  intangible  wealth  of  the  copyright 
will  in  turn  bring  tangible  wealth  to  its  owner. 
It  is  well  for  us  to  consider  some  of  these  in¬ 
tangible  values  in  a  study  of  wealth. 

Five  intangible  values. 

1.  Faith  and  confidence  are  intangible  wealth. 
Faith  in  the  government  gives  value  to  money. 
Faith  and  confidence  in  the  banking  system  make 
it  possible  for  the  exchange  of  checks,  without 
which  our  complicated  business  system  could  not 
exist.  But  let  the  community  lose  faith  in  a  cer¬ 
tain  bank,  and  there  is  a  “run”  to  withdraw 
deposits,  and  the  bank  must  close. 

2.  Knowledge  is  a  commercial  asset.  Knowl¬ 
edge  cannot  be  tabulated  or  taxed,  but  neverthe¬ 
less  it  has  a  tremendous  value.  The  technical 
knowledge  of  one  man  makes  him  worth  $10,000 
a  year,  while  the  lack  of  that  knowledge  in 


The  Christian  and  His  Intangible  TV ealth  143 

another  makes  him  of  little  or  no  value.  A  lawyer 
may  do  no  work,  but  merely  speak  a  few  words 
of  advice  which  may  be  of  incalculable  value  to 
his  client. 

3.  The  spirit  of  loyalty  has  great  value.  The 
same  thing  which  is  called  “college  spirit”  is 
valuable  also  in  business.  Factory  loyalty,  or 
what  some  one  has  called  “plant  sense,’ ’  in  which 
every  employee,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  is 
boosting  for  the  whole  institution,  is  a  wealth- 
producing  asset. 

4.  Names  of  men  of  influence.  In  many  busi¬ 
ness  concerns,  the  names  of  certain  influential 
men  are  placed  on  the  board  of  directors,  and  are 
carried  on  the  letterheads  of  the  firm  because  of 
their  intangible  value.  These  men  do  no  work 
and  have  no  definite  part  in  management,  yet  their 
names  add  confidence  and  stability  to  the  project. 
Many  such  names  are  connected  with  business 
institutions  long  after  the  death  of  the  men  them¬ 
selves.  Names  of  influential  men  are  sought  on 
all  public  committees  because  of  their  intangible 
worth. 

5.  A  good  location.  Business  concerns  spend  a 
good  deal  of  time  these  days  in  choosing  the  right 
location.  They  have  found  that  in  certain  cities 
three  times  as  many  people  walk  on  one  side  of 
the  street  as  on  the  other.  Why?  Neither  the 
sociologist  nor  the  psychologist  can  tell.  But 
the  fact  that  they  do,  makes  property  on  that  side 
of  the  street  more  to  be  desired  than  that  on  the 


144  The  Christian  and  His  Honey  Problems 

* 

other  side.  Men  will  pay  a  higher  price  for  it. 
When  the  assessor  comes  around,  he  may  not  be 
able  to  put  a  higher  valuation  upon  it,  but  it  is 
more  valuable  nevertheless.  It  has  intangible 
value. 

An  Indiana  farmer  erected  a  new  home  on  the 
hillside,  where  he  could  see  the  setting  sun. 
Later  he  said:  “It  is  the  first  sunset  I  have  seen 
in  twenty-four  years,  and  I  have  added  $10,000 
to  the  price  of  my  farm  because  of  that  sunset.’ ’ 
But  the  assessor  could  not  list  the  $10,000  sunset 
among  the  assets  of  the  farm. 

The  Christian  and  intangible  values .  Now, 
Christian  people  have  their  share  of  the  intangible 
wealth  of  the  nation.  They  can  make  the  largest 
contribution  along  this  line  of  any  class  of  people. 
They  add  confidence  and  faith  and  integrity  and 
religion,  and  all  the  higher  values  to  the  civiliza¬ 
tion  in  which  they  live.  Where  does  the  high 
idealism  of  a  community  come  from!  Certainly 
not  from  the  gamblers,  the  bootleggers,  and  other 
godless  members  of  society.  A  Catholic  banker 
once  said  of  a  humble  elder  in  one  of  the  Protes¬ 
tant  churches:  “I  hate  to  see  that  man  leave 
town;  he  is  worth  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  to 
this  town  just  to  walk  up  and  down  the  streets.” 
Such  a  statement  has  never  been  made  of  a  saloon¬ 
keeper  or  manager  of  a  pool-hall  or  a  race  track 
gambler. 

It  is  the  Christian  men  of  faith  and  high  re¬ 
ligious  motives  who  are  creating  these  intangible 


The  Christian  and  His  Intangible  Wealth  145 

values  in  every  community.  An  avowed  agnostic 
was  about  to  move  his  family  to  a  western  town 
when  he  discovered  that  it  had  no  church  of  any 
kind.  He  refused  to  move  to  a  town  that  had  no 
church,  on  the  ground  that  there  would  not  he 
the  proper  influences  for  his  children.  Although 
refusing  to  believe  in  the  church,  he  recognized 
its  intangible  value  to  the  community.  Ealph 
Connor  tells  of  a  wild-western  town  where  a 
church  building  was  erected.  He  said  that  even 
before  the  minister  arrived,  Sunday  horse-racing 
and  other  forms  of  evil  ceased.  The  very  pres¬ 
ence  of  the  house  of  God  had  a  direct  influence 
upon  the  habits  and  attitude  of  the  people. 

An  English  official  in  India  said  of  a  village 
whose  people  were  members  of  the  thieving  caste : 
“One  missionary  in  that  village  had  more  influ¬ 
ence  in  keeping  order  than  four  policemen.”  If 
that  were  true,  the  government  might  well  have 
afforded  part  of  the  salary  of  the  missionary. 

Mr.  Ingalls,  author  of  “Wealth  and  Income 
of  the  American  People,”  says  that  intangible 
wealth  cannot  be  divided  or  nationalized.  He 
says  that  intangible  wealth  is  easily  destroyed, 
and  that  when  it  is  destroyed,  the  destruction  of 
the  tangible  wealth  will  follow.  He  points  out 
that  Eussia  first  lost  her  intangible  wealth,  then 
the  destruction  of  physical  property  began. 

Stewardship  of  intangible  values .  This  leads 
us  to  the  conclusion  that  Christians  must  exercise 
the  proper  stewardship  over  their  intangible 


146  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

wealth.  The  Kingdom  of  God  cannot  he  estab¬ 
lished  with  money.  No  man  can  buy  his  way  into 
heaven.  All  the  money  in  the  world  is  worthless 
without  the  influence  of  living  men  to  bless  it  and 
use  it  and  sanctify  it.  There  must  not  only  be 
stewardship  of  money,  but  stewardship  of  all  the 
intangible  things  that  help  to  retain  the  value  of 
money.  “The  good  seed  are  the  children  of  the 
Kingdom.  ’  ’  ( Matt.  13 :  38. ) 

In  addition  to  what  has  already  been  named, 
there  must  be : 

1.  A  stewardship  of  personal  influence.  A 
man’s  personality  must  be  an  asset  for  righteous¬ 
ness.  His  influence  must  always  be  on  the  right 
side,  whether  it  be  political,  commercial,  or  social. 

“Where  does  Mr.  A - stand  on  this  question?” 

If  he  is  a  Christian,  there  is  only  one  side  of  any 
moral  question  upon  which  he  may  stand. 

2.  A  stewardship  of  time.  Time  is  money.  The 
average  man  works  eight  hours,  sleeps  eight 
hours,  and  has  eight  extra  hours  in  which  he  may 
find  time  to  do  many  good  things  that  will  help 
to  forward  the  cause  of  religion.  It  is  as  much  a 
sin  to  waste  time  as  it  is  to  waste  monev.  “If 
I  only  had  the  time”  is  an  un-Christian  excuse. 
Men  have  the  time  to  do  everything  they  really 
want  to  do.  “We  must  act  to-day;  yesterday  is 
gone ;  to-morrow  is  not  and  never  will  be ;  to-day 
is  our  only  day;  we  have  no  other.” 

3.  A  stewardship  of  habits  or  example.  Every 
man  influences  for  good  or  for  ill  all  with  whom 


The  Christian  and  His  Intangible  Wealth  147 

he  is  associated.  His  good  example  of  right  liv¬ 
ing  and  clean  habits  may  win  others  to  the  Chris¬ 
tian  life ;  or  his  carelessness  and  neglect  may  turn 
them  in  the  wrong  direction. 

4.  A  stewardship  of  service.  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  great  because  he  rendered  a  great  service. 
The  greatest  benefactors  of  the  human  race  have 
been  those  who  rendered  the  greatest  services, 
not  those  who  amassed  the  greatest  fortunes. 
Young  people,  in  choosing  life  vocations,  should 
be  guided  by  this  high  principle.  The  ruling 
motive  must  be  not  how  much  can  be  gotten  out 
of  life,  but  how  much  of  influence,  money,  and 
service  can  be  put  into  it. 

5.  Stewardship  of  attitude.  A  man  by  his  atti¬ 
tude  may  kill  or  make  alive.  By  his  attitude  he 
may  fan  the  fires  of  hope.  His  attitude  spells 
pessimism  or  optimism.  His  un-Christian,  criti¬ 
cal  attitude  may  blast  many  a  tender  growing 
plant  in  the  Lord’s  vineyard.  The  Christian’s 
attitude  should  ever  be  that  of  an  encourager, 
not  a  cynical  critic.  The  spoken  or  written  word 
with  the  wrong  attitude  may  hinder  Christ ’s  work 
in  the  world. 

“.  .  .  the  tongue  is  a  fire,  a  world  of  iniquity.  .  .  .  The 
tongue  can  no  man  tame;  it  is  an  unruly  evil,  full  of  deadly 
poison.  .  .  .  Therewith  bless  we  God;  .  .  .  and  therewith 
curse  we  men.  .  .  .  My  brethren,  these  things  ought  not  so 

to  be.” 

Janies  3:6,  8,  9,  10. 

Equally  un-Christian  is  the  pen  dipped  in 
vitriol  which  scatters  slander  and  suspicion,  in- 


148  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

stead  of  faith,  hope,  and  love.  That  the  pen  is 
mightier  than  the  sword  is  a  true  adage,  but  it  is 
equally  true  that  an  un-Christian  pen  may  be 
more  cruel  and  inhuman  than  the  sword. 

6.  A  stewardship  of  life.  All  of  life  must  be 
considered  in  the  light  of  stewardship.  “A  man’s 
life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things 
which  he  possesseth.”  Paul  said  of  the  Mace¬ 
donians:  “.  .  .  but  first  they  gave  their  own 
selves  to  the  Lord.”  God  did  not  try  to  redeem 
the  world  with  money.  He  gave  His  Son.  The 
biggest  thing  in  world  redemption  is  life.  And 
life  cannot  be  estimated  in  terms  of  money. 
William  Carey  gave  his  life  to  India.  Morrison 
gave  his  life  to  China.  David  Livingstone  gave 
the  best  of  his  life,  in  fact,  all  of  the  mature  years 
of  his  life,  for  the  redemption  of  Africa. 

“Take  my  life  and  let  it  be 
Consecrated  all  to  Thee.” 

7.  Stewardship  of  Prayer.  Some  one  has 
asked:  “Does  prayer  change  things!”  Prayer 
changes  both  men  and  things.  .  .  .  “More  things 
are  wrought  by  prayer  than  this  world  dreams 
of.”  “Ask  and  ye  shall  receive.”  The  founders 
of  America  were  men  of  prayer.  Washington 
won  the  battle  of  Valley  Forge  on  his  knees. 
Luther’s  prayer  life  had  greater  influence  in 
starting  the  Reformation  than  the  hurling  of  his 
ink  bottle  at  the  devil.  “The  effectual  fervent 
prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much.”  How 


The  Christian  and  His  Intangible  W ealth  149 

much  it  availeth  depends  on  how  much  and  how 
earnestly  he  prays.  Jesus  was  a  man  of  prayer. 
His  followers  are  taught  to  pray:  “Thy  Kingdom 
come,  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven.  ’ ’ 

8.  Stewardship  of  the  church.  The  Christian 
will  want  his  church  to  be  big  and  tine  and  influ¬ 
ential.  He  will  want  it  to  be  without  “spot  or 
blemish.”  He  will  not  want  it  handicapped 
by  covetousness  or  by  slack  business  methods. 
Roger  Babson  says:  “To  religion  we  owe  our 
civilization,  and  to  the  church  we  owe  our  religion. 
All  that  there  is  in  the  world  to-day  that  is  worth 
while  comes  from  men  tilled  with,  and  from 
groups  actuated  by  these  fundamentals, — in¬ 
tegrity,  faith,  industry,  brotherly  love,  and  those 
other  factors  which  come  only  through  God.  The 
church  to-day  deserves  the  credit  for  keeping 
these  factors  before  the  world ;  hence  it  is  evident 
that  the  people  of  America  have  not  the  bankers 
to  thank  for  their  security  and  prosperity,  but 
rather  the  preachers  and  the  churches.  To  these 
men  we  are  obligated  for  our  growth  and  de¬ 
velopment.” 

9.  Stewardship  of  international  relationships. 
The  American  Christian  has  a  right  to  demand 
that  a  professedly  Christian  America  shall  make 
a  Christian  impact  upon  other  nations.  Other 
nations,  especially  those  of  the  Orient,  expect  our 
representatives,  in  all  their  contacts,  to  be  Chris¬ 
tian.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  church  to  see  that  they 


150  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

are  not  disappointed.  One  of  the  hard  things  for 
the  non-Christian  nations  to  understand  was  why 
Christian  nations  would  go  to  war  with  one 
another.  If  all  our  international  relationships 
could  he  completely  Christianized,  it  would 
greatly  help  the  whole  program  of  world  evan¬ 
gelization.  This  vital  problem  needs  the  serious 
attention  of  Christian  statesmen. 

Finally:  These  intangible  influences  and  values 
have  a  large  place  in  the  lives  of  Christian  men 
and  women.  This  is  a  new  and  uncovered  field  in 
stewardship  consideration.  But  it  is  not  a  minor 
problem.  It  looms  large  when  the  stewardship 
ideal  is  applied  to  all  of  life.  Men  will  he  judged 
both  in  life  and  at  death  by  the  use  they  have  made 
of  the  intangible  influences  of  their  lives.  Men 
are  human ;  their  mistakes  are  only  incidental ;  it 
is  the  ultimate  purpose,  desire,  motive,  and  pro¬ 
gram  of  life  which  count. 

It  was  this  intangible  influence  and  power  about 
Jesus  that  gave  Him  His  drawing  power  with 
men.  He  inherited  no  property.  He  accumulated 
no  wealth.  He  wrote  no  books.  He  had  no 
governmental  influence  back  of  Him.  He  called 
men  to  lives  of  poverty.  He  challenged  them  to 
leave  all  and  follow  Him.  No  man  before  or  since 
ever  made  such  an  appeal  as  did  He.  He  has 
enlisted  through  the  centuries  millions  of  men  in 
the  most  gigantic  enterprise  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  Whv  do  men  follow  Him?  Because  these 
great  principles  of  self-renunciation  and  self- 


The  Christian  and  His  Intangible  Wealth  151 

giving  ring  true  to  the  instincts  and  the  highest 
aspirations  of  the  human  soul. 

The  intangible  values,  therefore,  these  invisible 
and  holy  aspirations  of  human  society,  need  to  be 
cultivated  and  further  educated  and  Christian¬ 
ized,  until  every  group  of  disciples  will  say  as  of 
old:  66 Master,  we  will  follow  Thee  whithersoever 
Thou  goest.” 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  VIII 

1.  What  is  wealth?  What  is  intangible  wealth? 

2.  Give  the  five  examples  of  intangible  wealth.  Name  other 
examples. 

3.  Discuss  the  Christian’s  relation  to  the  intangible  values. 
Give  some  illustrations. 

4.  Why  must  there  be  stewardship  of  the  intangible  values? 

5.  Name  the  nine  things  stated  in  this  chapter  over  which 
Christians  should  exercise  stewardship. 

6.  Which  do  you  consider  the  more  important,  tangible 
wealth  or  intangible  wealth?  Why? 

7.  Explain  the  tremendous  drawing  power  of  Jesus.  Why 
do  men  follow  Him? 

8.  Do  you  think  it  is  possible  to  exercise  Christian  steward¬ 
ship  over  one’s  tangible  wealth,  and  deny  his  Lord  regarding 
intangible  wealth? 

9.  When  can  a  person  be  said  to  be  really  Christian? 


Chapter  IX:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  WIFE 


“And  Jehovah  God  said,  It  is  not  good  that  the  man  should 
be  alone;  I  will  make  him  a  help  meet  for  him.” 

Genesis  2:18. 

“Let  the  husband  render  unto  the  wife  her  due;  and  likewise 
also  the  wife  unto  the  husband.” 

1  Corinthians  7 :  3. 

“Ye  husbands,  in  like  manner,  dwell  with  your  wives  ac¬ 
cording  to  knowledge,  giving  honor  unto  the  woman  as  unto 
the  weaker  vessel,  as  being  also  joint-heirs  of  the  grace  of  life; 
to  the  end  that  your  prayers  be  not  hindered.” 

I  Peter  3 :  7. 

“She  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household,  and  eateth 
not  the  bread  of  idleness.  Her  children  arise  up,  and  call  her 
blessed;  her  husband  also  and  he  praiseth  her.  .  .  .  Give  her 
of  the  fruit  of  her  hands,  and  let  her  own  works  praise 

her.  .  »  .” 


Proverbs  31 : 27-31. 


Chapter  IX 


THE  CHKISTIAN  AND  HIS  WIFE 

OUR  civilization  revolves  around  the  home. 

The  home  revolves  around  the  woman.  In 
a  discussion  of  the  money  problems  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  man,  it  would  not  be  possible  to  leave  his 
wife  out  of  consideration.  She  is  a  partner,  or 
should  be,  in  all  of  his  money  transactions. 

The  money  transactions  relating  to  the  home 
are  many  and  varied.  The  housewife  knows  the 
names  and  needs  of  a  greater  variety  of  things 
than  does  the  man.  They  are  recurrent,  daily, 
urgent  needs,  which  cannot  be  met  without  money. 
The  housewife,  by  the  very  nature  of  things,  is 
a  spender  of  money.  Owners  of  department 
stores  estimate  that  90  per  cent  of  all  buying  in 
their  stores  is  done  by  women.  The  aggregate 
business  of  these  stores  throughout  the  nation  is 
tremendous,  yet  women  are  their  principal  cus¬ 
tomers.  Other  estimates  are  that  women  spend 
from  50  per  cent  to  75  per  cent  of  the  income  of 
the  average  family. 

Who  earns  this  money?  Some  men  say:  “Men 
are  the  bread  winners ;  if  the  women  had  to  earn 

the  money,  they  would  go  slower  in  spending  it. ’ 9 

155 


156  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

However,  woman’s  place  must  be  recognized  in 
money-making.  The  man  puts  in  eight  or  ten 
hours  at  his  job;  but  the  sixteen  hours  he  spends 
away  from  it  keep  him  in  trim  for  his  work. 
Managers  of  baseball  teams  understand  that  the 
players  earn  their  salaries  almost  as  much  by 
right  living  and  clean  habits  while  off  the  field,  as 
during  playing  hours  on  the  field.  Now  the 
woman  who  cares  for  the  children,  keeps  the 
family  properly  clothed  and  fed,  relieves  the  hus¬ 
band  of  a  thousand  anxieties  and  cares,  and  helps 
to  keep  up  the  morale  of  the  home  is  thereby  mak¬ 
ing  her  definite  contribution  to  the  earning  of 
the  family  salary. 

Unpaid  wages  of  housewives.  One  of  the  best 
authorities  on  occupational  statistics  estimates 
that  in  1910  there  were  perhaps  18,000,000  Ameri¬ 
can  women,  sixteen  years  of  age  and  over,  en¬ 
gaged  in  housework  in  their  own  homes,  without 
monetary  remuneration.  If  this  proportion  of 
the  population  remained  constant,  then  the 
number  at  the  present  time  would  be  perhaps 
21,000,000.  How  much,  on  the  average,  was  their 
labor  worth  in  producing  the  national  income? 
Shall  we  be  generous  and  say  as  much  as  the  aver¬ 
age  pay  of  domestic  servants?  If  so,  then  $500 
per  year  before  the  war  would  be  a  liberal  esti¬ 
mate.  Figuring  on  the  rise  of  wages  since  the 
war,  their  worth  would  be,  say,  $900  per  year. 
The  National  Bureau  of  Economic  Research  has 


The  Christian  and  His  Wife  157 

estimated  the  economic  worth  of  housewives  as 
follows : 

1909  17,700,000  housewives,  at  $500 — total  services  valued 
at  $8,850,000,000. 

1919  20,500,000  housewives,  at  $900 — total  services  valued 
at  $18,459,000,000. 

1923  (Jan.  1st  estimated)  21,000,000  housewives  at  $900 — 
total  services  valued  at  $18,900,000,000. 

If  we  accept  this  estimate  as  approximately 
correct,  we  concede  that  at  least  one  dollar  out 
of  every  four  of  the  national  income  is  earned  by 
the  average  American  housewife.  This  ought  to 
take  some  of  the  conceit  out  of  the  male  popula¬ 
tion.  When  we  recognize  that  they  earned 
$18,900,000,000  which  the  men  failed  to  pay  them, 
the  deflation  of  man’s  egotism  ought  at  least  to 
begin ! 

Actual  incomes  of  American  women.  The  In¬ 
ternal  Eevenue  Collector  reports  that  in  the  year 
1920,  approximately  503,000  women  filed  returns 
for  that  year  claiming  the  $1,000  exemption 
allowed  a  single  person.  The  amount  of  net  in¬ 
come  reported  by  these  women  was  $1,264,000,000. 
In  addition,  there  were  filed  132,181  returns  by 
women  claiming  an  exemption  of  $2,000  as  heads 
of  families.  The  net  income  reported  by  these 
women  was  $338,000,000.  The  number  of  wives 
making  separate  returns  from  husbands  for  the 
same  year  was  77,558,  their  reported  net  income 
being  $534,849,000. 


Total  number  of  women  reporting .  712,639 

Total  income  reported  . $2,186,840,000 

Average  income  per  woman .  $3,068 


158  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 
Compare  this  with  the  total  report  of  all  incomes : 


Total  number  of  all  persons  reporting  incomes  37,569,060 

Total  income  reported  .  $65,500,000,000 

Average  income  ( per  capita  for  whole  popula¬ 
tion)  .  $586 


One  out  of  every  fifty-two  persons  reporting  was 
a  woman,  and  her  per  capita  income  was  $3,068 
as  against  $586  each  for  the  whole  population. 
The  number  of  these  women  is,  of  course,  small, 
but  the  facts  are  given  here  to  show  that  women 
are  coming  into  possession  of  a  considerable  share 
of  income  and  wealth;  this  unquestionably  in¬ 
creases  their  stewardship  responsibilities. 

Pioneers  aided  by  their  wives .  A  study  of  his¬ 
tory  will  show  that  woman  has  been  contributing 
her  part  to  the  progress  and  uplift  of  the  race. 
Much  has  been  written  about  the  Pilgrim  fathers. 
But  on  the  Mayflower  was  a  group  of  Pilgrim 
mothers.  They  braved  the  seas  and  the  dangers 
and  hardships  of  the  new  world  without  a  whim¬ 
per.  They,  along  with  other  brave-hearted  women 
who  came  to  the  new  world  about  the  same  time, 
were  the  mothers  of  that  sturdy  race  of  men  who 
later  wrote  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
the  American  constitution. 

The  pioneers  who  developed  our  middle  west 
were  men  of  courage  and  endurance.  Side  by 
side  with  them  were  the  pioneer  wives  and 
mothers.  They  helped  to  lay  the  foundations  for 
our  American  commonwealth.  Their  firesides 
often  were  the  school-houses  where  they  taught 


The  Christian  and  His  Wife  159 

their  own  children,  before  it  was  possible  to  have 
an  organized  educational  system. 

When  the  lure  of  adventure  and  of  gold  pulled 
men  across  the  Rockies,  their  wives  stayed  not 
behind.  And  as  Marcus  Whitman  took  his  wagon 
train  of  a  thousand  people  across  the  plains  and 
mountains  to  settle  the  great  Northwest,  the  wives 
and  children  were  with  them. 

The  story  of  the  pioneer  preacher  is  likewise 
the  story  of  the  pioneer  preacher’s  wife.  Wher¬ 
ever  he  went  in  establishing  the  church,  that  men 
in  new  communities  might  find  God  and  worship 
Him,  there  also  went  his  pious,  praying  wife. 
She,  too,  must  share  in  the  credit  and  the  glory 
of  helping  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  in  pioneer  fields. 

Nor  is  this  all.  How  romantic  are  the  stories  of 
the  pioneer  -  foreign  missionaries  who  have  gone 
out  to  the  ends  of  the  world!  Call  the  names  of 
these  modern  heroes  of  faith,  from  Carey,  Judson, 
Moffatt,  Livingstone,  down  to  the  present  time. 

“Who,  through  faith,  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteous¬ 
ness,  obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched 
the  violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  out  of  a 
weakness  were  made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned  to 
flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens.  .  .  .  And  others  had  trial  of 
cruel  mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover  of  bonds  and 
imprisonment ;  they  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn  asunder, 
were  tempted,,  were  slain  with  the  sword ;  they  wandered  about 
in  sheepskins  and  goatskins,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tor¬ 
mented;  (of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy) ;  .  .  .” 

Yes,  name  the  long  list,  tenderly  and  prayer¬ 
fully,  and  remember  that  in  nearly  every  case  a 


160  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

missionary  wife  and  mother,  great-hearted  and 
unafraid,  joyfully  shared  the  sacrifices  of  this 
host  of  master  builders  in  the  program  of  human 
redemption. 

Woman  coming  into  her  own.  This  is  an  age 
in  which  woman  is  coming  into  her  own.  In  many 
pagan  lands  woman  is  still  the  property  of  her 
husband.  She  is  property  just  as  a  horse  or  an 
ox  or  an  elephant  is  property.  She  can  be  sold 
or  traded  or  beaten  according  to  the  wishes  of  her 
lord.  Even  in  America  there  are  some  men  who 
have  not  gotten  far  past  that  conception.  But 
the  general  public  sentiment  is  tending  toward 
the  recognition  of  woman’s  rightful  place  in  the 
social,  educational,  religious,  and  political  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  country. 

In  the  administration  of  the  national  mission¬ 
ary  and  benevolent  organizations  of  the  various 
churches,  woman  is  taking  a  large  place.  Her 
sympathetic  consideration  of  the  problems  in 
volved,  coupled  with  her  faith  and  vision,  make 
her  services  much  to  he  desired. 

There  are  more  women  school  teachers  than 
men,  the  ratio  being  about  three  to  one.  Hence 
women  are  largely  responsible  for  the  education 
of  the  American  youth.  Women  are  now  occu¬ 
pying  prominent  places  in  the  business  and 
commercial  world.  They  have  shown  their  capa¬ 
bilities  and  have  earned  their  “ place  in  the  sun,” 
although  men  have  sometimes  been  slow  to  recog~ 
nize  it.  The  country  was  surprised  only  a  few 


161 


The  Christian  and  His  Wife 

years  ago  when  a  woman  was  elected  to  the 
national  congress.  Now  there  are  three  women 
members  of  congress,  and  we  take  it  as  a  matter 
of  course  that  others  will  be  chosen.  Women  now 
have  the  vote,  and  they  are  carefully  scrutinizing 
the  many  issues  before  the  public.  The  day  of 
the  political  boss  will  soon  be  at  an  end.  The 
great  political  parties  must  recognize  the  finer 
sensibilities  and  moral  standards  of  women  in 
all  political  issues. 

Benjamin  Kidd  says:  “ Woman’s  mind  at  the 
present  time,  even  in  the  highest  systems  of 
human  culture,  remains  the  greatest  mystery  of 
the  race.  ...  It  is  the  mind  of  woman  which  is 
destined  to  take  the  lead  in  the  future  of  civiliza¬ 
tion  as  the  principal  instrument  of  power.’ ’ 

Woman’s  influence  in  the  home.  Recognizing 
the  influence  and  contribution  of  woman  as  out¬ 
lined  in  the  preceding  paragraphs,  we  come  now 
to  consider  her  greatest  worth.  Woman’s  influ¬ 
ence  is  preeminent  in  the  home.  It  is  rather  a 
heartless  thing  to  have  reckoned  the  economic 
worth  of  housewives  on  the  basis  of  domestic 
servants.  But  it  seemed  necessary  to  put  the 
figures* down  that  no  one  might  fail  to  grasp  their 
significance. 

But  who  can  put  a  money  value  on  the  worth 
of  a  faithful  wife?  Can  her  loyalty,  devotion,  and 
interest  be  tabulated  on  an  income  tax  report? 
How  can  the  services  of  a  mother  ever  be  esti¬ 
mated  at  their  true  value?  “The  hand  that  rocks 


162  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

the  cradle  is  the  hand  that  rules  the  world.  ’ ’  The 
mother  has  the  major  responsibility  in  the  gov¬ 
ernment  and  training  of  the  children.  How  much 
is  that  intangible  influence  worth  which  adds  both 
“effluence  and  affluence’’  to  the  home?  Great 
men  testify  that  they  owe  all  to  their  mothers. 
Lincoln  said:  “All  that  I  am,  or  hope  to  be,  I 
owe  to  my  angel  mother.”  Was  it  the  home  cook¬ 
ing  and  care  of  clothing  to  which  he  referred? 
Rather  it  was  that  indefinable  and  intrinsic  worth 
which  endowed  him  with  honesty,  integrity,  purity, 
and  uprightness  of  heart.  It  must  be  the  consid¬ 
eration  of  these  high  characteristics  which  is 
causing  some  states  to  promote  a  mothers’  pen¬ 
sion  plan. 

A  plea  for  the  economic  emancipation  of  women . 
Having  come  to  this  point,  is  it  necessary  to  make 
a  plea  to  Christian  husbands  for  the  emancipation 
of  their  wives  from  a  sort  of  semi-slavery,  semi- 
beggarly  position?  Christian  women  ought  not 
to  be  put  in  the  same  class  as  blind  beggars,  mak¬ 
ing  supplications  for  their  rights  in  their  own 
households.  The  woman  is  a  full  partner  in  the 
home  and  in  earning  the  salary,  in  every  sense 
of  the  word.  A  share  of  the  income  by  right  is 
hers,  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  household  and  to 
clothe  the  children.  Why  should  she  be  compelled 
to  run  to  her  husband  every  time  she  needs  a 
dollar  for  a  simple  household  item? 

Nor  is  it  sufficient  that  she  be  given  an  “allow¬ 
ance.”  An  “allowance”  has  in  it  the  idea  of 


163 


The  Christian  and  His  Wife 

condescension,  that  a  special  favor,  or  grant,  is 
being  made.  This  denies  to  the  woman  the  ac¬ 
knowledgment  that  she  has  been  accepted  into 
full  partnership  in  all  money  considerations. 
How  would  the  husband  feel  if  the  order  were 
reversed  and  his  wife  gave  him  only  an  “allow¬ 
ance  9 9  ? 

The  Christian  husband  and  wife  are  one.  They 
are  in  partnership,  and  their  earnings  are  joint- 
earnings;  they  are  family  earnings;  and  belong 
not  simply  to  the  husband.  This  point  is  recog¬ 
nized  in  law.  This  being  true,  they  should  jointly 
plan  their  expenditures.  Women  need  to  be  con¬ 
sulted  and  trained  in  all  financial  matters.  What 
do  they  know  about  investments?  Well,  many  of 
them  know  enough  to  keep  out  of  wild-cat  schemes, 
which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  some  so-called 
“shrewd  business  men.”  Many  men  keep  all 
their  financial  affairs  from  their  wives.  An 
insurance  company  has  suggested  a  good  slogan : 
“Your  wife  may  not  know  your  true  financial 
condition  but  your  widow  will.” 

Family  expenditures  and  Christian  steward¬ 
ship.  Now,  all  this  has  a  direct  bearing  on  the 
whole  problem  of  Christian  stewardship.  If  the 
seven  major  needs  named  in  Chapter  II  are  to 
have  their  proportionate  share  of  the  income,  then 
Christian  men  and  women  together  must  work 
out  the  details  of  money  spending.  If  the  wife 
demands  an  automobile  to  keep  up  with  “the 
Joneses”  when  the  family  income  cannot  afford 


164  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

it,  they  must  do  without  other  things,  or  go  in 
debt.  The  family  can  easily  be  plunged  into  debt, 
and  a  cloud  of  discouragement  hang  over  it  for 
years  because  of  unsystematic  and  unstudied  ex¬ 
penditures.  If  either  husband  or  wife  or  both, 
have  extravagant  tastes  along  any  line,  luxurious 
habits  will  be  established  which  will  undoubtedly 
rob  religion  of  its  share  of  the  income. 

Since  82  per  cent  of  the  national  income  comes 
to  people  who  receive  less  than  $5,000  per  annum, 
and  since  women  spend  at  least  50  per  cent  of  this 
total  sum,  surely  it  is  in  order  that  these  billions 
of  dollars  be  spent  under  the  test  of  Christian 
stewardship.  It  is  time  for  a  readjustment  of  the 
standards  of  Christianity  when  the  average 
family,  which  does  not  even  own  its  home  can. 
with  complacency,  spend  17  per  cent  of  the  income 
on  non-essentials.  The  Christian  and  his  wife 
owe  it  to  themselves,  as  Christians,  to  be  Chris¬ 
tians  in  their  monthly  spendings  of  the  family 
income. 

Family  administration  of  the  Lord’s  share . 
This  involves  also  the  joint  stewardship  of  the 
Lord’s  share  which  should  not  be  less  than  10  per 
cent.  This  share  religiously  set  aside  should  be 
jointly  administered.  Since  the  woman  helps  to 
earn  it,  she  will  no  longer  need  to  “beg”  her  hus¬ 
band  to  give  her  money  for  the  church.  She,  as 
well  as  he,  is  a  steward  of  the  Lord’s  share. 

Not  long  ago  a  union  service  of  all  the  churches 
in  a  county  was  held  in  a  grove.  There  was  a 


165 


The  Christian  and  His  Wife 

large  Sunday-school  class  of  men,  also  one  of 
women.  When  it  was  time  for  the  offering,  a  little 
old  woman  went  trotting  across  to  the  men’s  class, 
and  in  the  presence  of  a  hundred  men,  suffered 
the  humiliation  of  waiting  for  her  husband  to  get 
out  his  purse  and  hand  her  out  a  nickel  for  the 
collection. 

In  another  city  a  man  accompanied  his  family 
to  Bible  school.  When  classes  were  assembling, 
a  boy  of  ten  rushed  up  to  his  father  and  was  given 
a  penny.  Soon  came  a  girl  of  twelve  who  also 
was  doled  out  a  penny.  His  daughter  of  sixteen 
chased  him  to  the  door  of  the  men’s  class  and  held 
him  until  the  mother  arrived,  when  each  was  re¬ 
warded  with  a  penny  for  the  collection. 

Such  examples  are  legion.  Family  stewardship 
avoids  all  this  indignity  and  humiliation.  In 
family  consultation,  it  is  decided  how  much  each 
shall  pay  to  the  Bible  school  and  to  the  church, 
and  each  shares  in  the  responsibility  and  joy,  and 
each  has  the  spiritual  exhilaration  of  making  his 
contribution  to  the  Lord’s  treasury. 

Responsibility  of  women  in  teaching  steward¬ 
ship.  There  is  another  phase  to  the  matter. 
There  are  more  women  church  members  than  men. 
Their  interest  in  the  church  is  keener  than  that 
of  men.  If  women  adopt  habits  of  thrift  and 
economy  in  all  their  expenditures,  and  form 
habits  of  systematic  giving,  it  will  be  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  a  new  era  in  the  Christian  religion. 

Women  teachers  in  the  Bible-schools  are  in  the 


166  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

large  majority.  They  have  places  of  leadership 
in  other  organizations  of  the  church.  They  have 
thus  an  opportunity  and  an  obligation  to  teach  the 
great  principles  of  stewardship  as  have  no  others, 
outside  of  the  Christian  ministry.  Here  is  the 
prophecy  of  a  better  day  in  the  whole  matter  of 
stewardship,  for  there  is  always  a  forward  step 
in  religious  affairs  when  woman’s  counsel  is  heard 
and  heeded. 

The  gist  of  the  matter.  The  gist  of  the  matter, 
then,  is  this:  that  the  Christian  and  his  wife  are 
partners  in  money-making.  They  must  also  be 
partners  in  money-saving,  investing,  and  spend¬ 
ing.  They  are  joint-stewards  of  the  whole  income. 
They  are  likewise  joint-stewards  of  the  Lord’s 
share  of  the  income.  They  should,  in  consulta¬ 
tion,  administer  it  in  the  wisest  possible  way,  so 
that  they  “may  be  found  faithful”  in  the  matter 
of  their  stewardship  and  that  they  may  bring 
honor  and  glory  to  their  Lord.  The  Christian 
family,  as  a  family,  must  make  a  Christian  con¬ 
tribution  to  the  world. 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  IX 

1.  Why  is  a  wife  entitled  to  a  certain  share  of  the  family 
salary  or  income? 

2.  Do  you  agree  with  the  figures  which  show  that  the 
average  housewife  earns  as  much  as  a  domestic  servant?  Is 
this  point  acknowledged  by  all  men? 

3.  Show  how  the  pioneers  have  been  aided  by  their  wives. 

4.  What  is  your  opinion  as  to  the  growing  influence  of 
women  in  the  political,  educational  and  business  world? 

5.  Why  is  woman’s  influence  greater  in  the  home  than 
elsewhere? 


167 


The  Christian  and  His  Wife 

6.  Do  you  believe  it  a  good  plan  for  the  wife  to  have  a  stated 
share  of  the  income?  Do  you  think  there  would  be  more 
general  satisfaction  in  all  families  if  this  were  done? 

7.  Discuss  the  suggestion  as  to  the  way  the  family  should 
apportion  the  spending  of  its  money. 

8.  How  should  the  Lord’s  share  be  administered  by  the 
Christian  family? 

9.  Why  do  women  have  a  special  responsibility  in  teaching 
stewardship  ? 

10.  Families  which  have  not  done  so,  should  work  out  at 
once  a  satisfactory  plan  of  administering  both  the  regular 
expenditures  and  the  Lord’s  share. 


I 


Chapter  X:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS 
CHILDREN 


“And  ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath;  but 
nurture  them  in  the  chastening  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.” 

Ephesians  6:4. 


“Fathers,  provoke  not  your  children,  that  they  be  not 
discouraged.” 


Colossians  3:21. 


“Tell  ye  your  children  of  it,  and  let  your  children  tell  their 
children,  and  their  children  another  generation.” 

Joel  1:3 . 


“For  it  is  precept  upon  precept;  precept  upon  precept; 
line  upon  line,  line  upon  line;  here  a  little,  there  a  little.” 

Isaiah  28:10. 


“And  all  Judah  stood  before  Jehovah,  with  their  little  ones, 
their  wives,  and  their  children.” 

II  Chronicles  20 : 13. 

“And  they  offered  great  sacrifices  that  day,  and  rejoiced; 
for  God  had  made  them  rejoice  with  great  joy;  and  the 
women  also  and  the  children  rejoiced;  so  that  the  joy  of 
Jerusalem  was  heard  even  afar  off.” 


Nehemiah  12 : 43. 


Chapter  X 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  CHILDREN 

CHRISTIAN  parents  owe  the  best  of  every¬ 
thing  to  their  children.  But  it  is  necessary 
to  use  discrimination  in  deciding  what  those 
“best”  things  are.  Everything  that  adds  to  the 
normal  development  of  body,  mind,  heart  and  soul 
should  be  provided  by  parents  for  growing  chil¬ 
dren.  Their  ideals,  their  attitude  towards  money, 
their  desire  or  lack  of  desire  to  be  useful  in  the 
world,  their  whole  outlook  upon  life  will  be  deter¬ 
mined  by  their  early  teaching  and  environment. 
If  we  are  to  have  better  cities,  better  statesmen, 
better  churches,  a  better  nation  and  a  better 
world,  Christian  parents  must  to-day  lay  the 
foundations  in  the  lives  of  their  children.  ‘  ‘  Train 
up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go  and  when  he  is 
old,  he  will  not  depart  from  it.” 

Duty  of  American  education .  Universal  educa¬ 
tion  is  perhaps  the  most  generally  accepted  obli¬ 
gation  among  the  American  people.  “Education 
is  a  debt  due  from  the  present  to  future  genera¬ 
tions.”  An  American  editor  says:  “The  educa¬ 
tional  system  is  the  very  mind  and  soul  of  the 
nation.”  Von  Humboldt,  the  first  Prussian 

Minister  of  Education,  said:  “What  you  would 

171 


172  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

have  in  the  state,  you  must  first  put  into  the  minds 
of  the  people  by  means  of  the  schools. 9  9 

America  has  always  recognized  this.  Our 
national  Congress,  in  the  Act  of  1787,  providing 
for  the  government  of  the  Northwest  Territory, 
said  in  its  preamble:  “Religion,  morality,  and 
knowledge  being  necessary  to  good  government 
and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and  the 
means  of  education  shall  be  forever  encouraged. 9  9 
That  these  ideals  are  being  carried  out  is  evi¬ 
denced  by  the  fact  that  the  United  States  now  has 
invested  in  all  educational  plants  $3,500,000,000. 

The  Carnegie  Foundation  for  the  Advancement 
of  Teaching  has  made  public  a  report  showing  the 
growth  in  American  schools  from  1890  to  1920. 
The  enrollment  in  the  public  elementary  schools 
has  increased  from  13,000,000  in  1890  to  22,000,000 
in  1920.  During  the  same  period,  the  enrollment- 
in  the  high  schools  increased  from  200,000  to 
2,000,000.  This  is  an  increase  of  70  per  cent  in  the 
elementary  schools,  and  1,000  per  cent  in  the  high 
schools.  The  cost  of  maintaining  public  schools 
for  this  same  period  has  risen  from  $140,000,000 
to  $1,000,000,000  annually. 

The  Foundation  wants  a  statesmanlike  consid¬ 
eration  of  the  situation,  and  thinks  that  if  this  is 
not  done,  curtailment  of  the  schools,  on  account 
of  increasing  costs,  may  be  necessary.  At  first 
glance  this  would  appear  to  be  a  serious  problem, 
but  when  all  of  the  facts  are  considered,  it  should 
not  be  so  regarded.  The  total  national  income  is 


The  Christian  and  His  Children  173 

$65,500,000,000  each  year.  The  total  paid  for 
education,  according  to  this  report,  is  only 
$1,000,000,000.  This  means  that  only  one  dollar 
out  of  every  sixty-five  is  spent  on  the  education 
of  the  American  children.  The  tax-payers  may 
well  curtail  every  other  line  of  expenditure  rather 
than  this.  Education  is  one  of  the  seven  major 
needs,  and  the  Christian  will  gladly  set  aside  for 
this  purpose  a  sufficient  share  of  the  income  to 
supply  it. 

Education  should  embody  Christian  ideals . 
Some  one  has  said  that  “the  soul  of  education  is 
the  education  of  the  soul.”  We  must  make  our 
people  good  as  well  as  wise  and  powerful  and 
rich.  Christian  America  should  use  its  educa¬ 
tional  system  for  the  establishment  and  defense 
of  the  ideals  of  liberty,  justice  and  righteousness. 
Education  should  make  a  distinct  contribution  to 
the  life  of  America  and  of  the  world. 

Mark  Hopkins  said:  “Christianity  is  the 
greatest  civilizing,  molding,  uplifting  power  on 
this  globe,  and  it  is  a  sad  defect  in  any  institution 
of  higher  learning  if  it  does  not  bring  those  under 
its  care  into  the  closest  possible  relation  to  it.” 

James  J.  Hill,  the  great  railroad  builder,  sensed 
the  same  need  when  he  said:  “It  is  a  mistake  to 
train  young  people  in  all  lines  of  knowledge  and 
give  them  full  college  equipment  for  undertaking 
the  big  tasks  of  life,  without  making  sure  also 
that  fundamental  principles  of  right  and  wrong, 
as  taught  in  the  Bible,  have  become  a  part  of  their 


174  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

equipment.  There  is  a  control  of  forces  and 
motives  essential  to  the  management  of  vast 
affairs  which  comes  only  through  an  educated 
conscience.  ’  ’ 

Education  for  Christian  leadership.  The  Chris¬ 
tian  is  a  church  man.  Being  so,  he  is  interested 
in  the  future  development  of  the  church.  He  does 
not  desire  or  expect  the  church  to  lose  ground. 
This  being  true,  the  children  of  many  Chris¬ 
tian  parents  must  give  themselves  to  Christian 
service.  This  includes  the  work  of  home  and 
foreign  missionaries,  ministers,  teachers  in 
Christian  colleges,  social  workers  and  other  forms 
of  whole-time  Christian  service.  The  brightest 
and  keenest  young  men  and  women  of  the  church 
should  be  chosen  for  these  tasks.  Christian 
parents  should  not  discourage  but  rather  encour¬ 
age  their  children  who  are  capable,  to  enter  such 
vocations  of  opportunity  and  of  usefulness. 

Now,  in  the  training  of  these  distinctly  Chris¬ 
tian  leaders,  church  colleges  are  necessary.  The 
records  show  that  about  82  per  cent  of  mission¬ 
aries,  ministers  and  other  church  workers  are 
trained  in  Christian  colleges,  and  only  18  per  cent 
in  state  institutions.  This  clearly  indicates  that 
Christian  men  and  women  must  give  some  of  their 
money  to  help  maintain  and  endow  Christian  col¬ 
leges;  otherwise,  the  future  Christian  leadership 
of  the  nation  and  of  the  world  may  fail. 

Children  and  habits  of  saving.  Children,  early 
in  life,  should  be  taught  to  save.  This  applies  to 


The  Christian  and  His  Children  175 

the  poor  as  well  as  to  the  rich.  Because  the  pos¬ 
sible  amount  is  small  is  no  reason  why  it  should 
not  be  saved.  Wasteful  expenditure  of  every 
dime  and  dollar  creates  a  habit  which  keeps  some 
people  poor  all  their  lives.  Many  people  have 
not  taken  the  time  to  estimate  how  even  small 
sums  will  grow  by  careful  saving.  Any  amount 
of  money,  with  compound  interest  at  5  per  cent, 
will  double  itself  in  fifteen  years.  At  6  per  cent, 
it  will  double  itself  in  less  than  twelve  years.  The 
following  table  shows  how  rapidly  money  will 
increase  if  a  small  amount  is  saved  each  month. 

How  Money  Grows  at  6  Per  Cent  by  Regular  Monthly 
Deposits  on  the  First  op  Each  Month,  Interest 
Compounded  Semi-annually 


Monthly  Deposits  of 

$10.00 

$25.00 

$50.00 

$100.00 

1 

year 

....  123.93 

309.83 

619.66 

1,239.32 

5 

a 

....  699.87 

1,749.68 

3,499.35 

6,998.70 

10 

u 

....  1,640.44 

4,101.09 

8,202.18 

16,404.36 

15 

u 

....  2,904.48 

7,261.20 

14,522.40 

29,044.80 

20 

a 

....  4,603.25 

11,508.12 

23,016.24 

46,032.48 

25 

a 

....  6,874.66 

17,186.64 

34,373.28 

68,746.57 

30 

u 

....  9,938.84 

24,847.09 

49,694.18 

99,388.35 

The  Christian  will  want  to  inculcate  habits  of 
thrift,  economy  and  savings  in  his  children,  so 
that  they  may  be  financially  able  to  take  their 
share  in  all  Christian  enterprises. 

Children  and  the  family  budget.  The  family 
budget  should  be  put  on  the  table  where  all  can 
look  at  it,  discuss  it,  and  be  responsible  for  the 
decisions  regarding  it.  Early  in  life  children 
should  be  made  acquainted  with  the  financial 


176  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

affairs  of  the  family,  and  be  taught  to  help  face 
its  responsibilities.  If  they  knew  all  the  facts, 
they  would  often  be  more  considerate  in  their 
requests  for  money.  Children  should  be  accounted 
as  partners  in  the  home.  They  should  be  trained 
in  economy  and  in  habits  of  saving  as  well  as  of 
spending.  We  lose  our  children  if  their  processes 
of  money-making  and  money-spending  are  not 
Christianized.  When  the  money  question  is  prop¬ 
erly  settled,  in  all  of  its  ramifications  both  in  the 
home  and  in  society,  practically  every  other  ques¬ 
tion  will  be  settled. 

One  man  reported  that  his  whole  family  con¬ 
siders  the  family  budget  together  and  decides  how 
it  is  to  be  spent.  They  decided  on  one  occasion 
that  the  father  should  buy  a  new  suit  of  clothes, 
as  he  had  to  be  well  dressed  to  carry  on  his  par¬ 
ticular  line  of  work.  The  children  agreed  that,  if 
necessary,  the  amounts  that  would  be  spent  on 
them  for  that  month  should  be  less  than  usual. 
This  shows  that  children  have  a  right  sense  of 
proportion  and  justice.  Their  judgment  in  de¬ 
ciding  such  questions  is  often  as  accurate  as  that 
of  adults. 

Children  and  the  Christian  concept  of  money . 
This  is  a  day  of  big  fortunes.  The  twentieth  cen¬ 
tury  boy  and  girl  have  more  money  to  spend  on 
luxuries,  pleasures  and  non-essentials  than  the 
children  of  any  other  generation.  Large  fortunes 
in  real-estate,  bonds,  stocks,  business  concerns 
and  money  are  being  left  to  children.  No  other 


The  Christian  and  His  Children  177 

group  of  young  people  have  ever  been  so  tempted 
with  wealth  as  are  those  of  to-day. 

A  mid-western  pioneer-farmer  has  worked  like 
a  slave  and  has  accumulated  2,000  acres  of  land. 
Now  his  two  sons,  who  do  not  have  the  moral  fiber 
of  their  father,  have  inherited  it.  From  present 
indications,  it  will  not  take  them  nearly  so  long 
to  dissipate  it  as  it  took  their  father  to  accumu¬ 
late  it.  A  pioneer-banker,  by  hard  work  and  care¬ 
ful  savings,  has  accumulated  a  fortune  of  $500,000. 
It  is  being  left  to  an  only  son  who  is  a  renegade. 
Such  fortunes  will  be  the  ruination  of  boys  who 
have  not  been  given  the  Christian  concept  of 
money.  What  will  it  profit  a  man  if  he  makes  a 
million  dollars,  and  the  million  dollars  ruins  his 
own  son? 

Does  the  church  have  a  message  for  such 
parents?  Will  the  practice  of  stewardship  help 
to  save  the  children  of  the  well-to-do  and  the  rich  ? 
Is  there  such  a  thing  as  stewardship  of  children? 
If  so,  how  does  it  relate  to  money?  How  can  rich 
parents  train  their  children  who  are  to  be  rich 
to  be  Christian  also? 

Was  the  Prodigal  son  wholly  to  blame f  It  is 
probable  that  the  real  tragedy  in  the  career  of 
the  Prodigal  son  has  been  overlooked.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  he  said  to  his  father:  ‘ 4 Give 
me  the  portion  of  goods  that  falleth  to  me,”  and 
that  the  father  “ divided  unto  them  his  living.” 
The  story  then  tells  that  the  younger  son  ‘ 4  wasted 
his  substance  with  riotous  living,  .  .  .  and  spent 


178  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

all  that  he  had.”  Evidently  this  son  had  never 
been  tanght  how  to  regard  his  partnership  in  the 
family  life  or  how  to  take  care  of  his  money. 
Many  sermons  lay  all  the  blame  upon  the  boy,  but 
the  cause  lies  deeper.  The  father  had  not  taught 
this  son  the  value  of  money  or  trained  him  in 
the  proper  use  of  it.  What  right  had  this  father, 
merely  because  the  boy  asked  for  it,  to  put  into 
this  son’s  hands  the  means  of  his  downfall!  The 
money  was  wasted,  and  the  boy  was  ruined. 

That  son  is  like  thousands  of  children  of  rich 
people  to-day.  Lack  of  teaching  on  the  Christian 
concept  of  money,  both  in  the  home  and  in  the 
church,  is  responsible  for  many  prodigal  sons  and 
daughters. 

Personal  responsibility  of  parents .  Parental 
responsibility  cannot  be  transferred  to  a  gov¬ 
erness  or  a  teacher  or  a  friend,  or  even  to  the 
minister  or  to  the  church.  “The  baptism  of 
character  is  a  part  of  the  family  priesthood.” 

Neither  can  the  recreation  of  the  children  be 
“farmed  out,”  lest  it  be  done  to  the  peril  of  the 
children.  The  average  father  fails  to  consider 
his  total  Christian  duty  to  the  children  in  his 
home.  He  is  engrossed  in  business  affairs  and 
considers  his  home  a  haven  of  rest  for  himself, 
after  his  busy  day  at  work.  The  mother  needs 
the  assistance  of  the  father  in  the  matter  of  dis¬ 
cipline.  The  father  should  put  as  much  brains 
and  initiative  into  holding  his  boy  and  girl  as 
he  does  into  holding  his  business  or  his  job. 


The  Christian  and  His  Children  179 

There  needs  to  be  a  reestablishment  of  the  old- 
fashioned  home,  where  the  parents  and  the  chil¬ 
dren  together  exercise  enough  originality  to  make 
the  evenings  instructive  and  entertaining.  This 
can  be  done  so  that  the  children’s  preference  will 
be  to  stay  at  home  rather  than  go  anywhere  else. 

Home  failures.  Some  one  has  compiled  a  list  of 
home  failures.  It  includes  “parental  misunder¬ 
standing  of  the  child ;  fault-finding ;  lack  of  affec¬ 
tion  or  failure  to  express  it;  lack  of  confidential 
relations  with  children ;  drunken  parents ;  separa¬ 
tion  of  parents;  loss  of  parents  by  death;  street 
play  and  loafing.” 

A  number  of  the  preceding  items  would  include 
the  lack  of  mutual  understanding  between  parent 
and  child.  This  is  true  largely  because  parents 
do  not  take  the  time  to  understand  the  viewpoint 
of  their  children.  Every  parent  should  aim  to 
stay  young  enough  to  keep  in  sympathy  with 
growing  boys  and  girls.  The  Christian  has  a  real 
duty  here,  and  it  should  be  performed  for  his  own 
sake  and  for  the  sake  of  the  future  welfare  of  his 
children. 

Laxity  in  the  vital  elements  of  Christian  char¬ 
acter  may  more  than  offset  the  advantages  of  edu¬ 
cation.  The  essentials  which  go  to  make  up 
strength  of  character  should  be  deeply  planted 
in  the  lives  of  children.  These  should  include  en¬ 
durance,  strength,  ruggedness  of  character, 
honesty,  integrity,  purity  and  stability,  so  that  the 
storms  of  life  may  not  overcome  them. 


180  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

Stewardship  of  the  spare  time  of  children. 
There  are  too  many  institutions  and  organiza¬ 
tions  which  are  competing  for  the  spare  time  of 
children.  These  always  call  the  children  away 
from  home.  It  is  during  the  spare  hours  that 
children  get  into  trouble,  and  that  young  people 
fall  into  divers  temptations.  Children  are  too 
unrestrained  in  spending  evenings  away  from 
home. 

During  three  months  of  the  year,  the  school 
does  nothing  for  the  child.  He  is  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  the  home,  but  if  the  home  fails  to  provide 
occupation  for  his  time,  he  is  under  the  tutelage 
of  others,  who  may  lead  him  astray. 

A  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  in  a  town 
of  50,000,  took  a  boys’  survey  of  the  whole  city. 
An  important  discovery  was  made  of  a  u  Twenty- 
seventh  Street  gang.”  The  police  had  reported 
many  disturbances  and  small  thefts  in  that 
vicinity.  The  boys’  survey  revealed  that  nearly 
fifty  boys  were  living  in  an  area  of  one  crowded 
city  block,  and  that  thirty-seven  of  them  were 
attending  no  church  or  Sunday-school.  These 
boys,  without  careful  supervision,  and  in  a  con¬ 
gested  district,  had  organized  themselves  into  a 
“gang,”  and  were  committing  many  depreda¬ 
tions.  Four  smaller  similar  “gangs”  were  found 
in  other  parts  of  the  city.  A  careful  study  re¬ 
vealed  the  fact  that  these  other  boys  had  received 
their  first  instruction  in  wrong-doing  from  the 
“Twenty-seventh  Street  gang,”  their  parents 


The  Christian  and  His  Children  181 


having  later  moved  to  other  parts  of  the  city. 
Thus  lawlessness  and  wrong-doing  spread  from 
one  center,  where  the  misdirected  spare  time  of 
normal  growing  boys  was  the  cause. 

An  estimated  time  schedule  of  a  week  will  show 
that  the  largest  part  of  the  time  of  growing  boys 
and  girls  is  at  the  disposal  of  the  home. 

Hours  in  a  week .  168 


Hours  in  school  . 

......  30 

Hours  in  church . 

.  2 

Hours  beyond  home  control . 

,.  32 

Hours  spent  in  sleep . 

. 56 

Hours  at  disposal  of  home . 

. 80 

Hours  under  home  control . 

,.  136 

Total  hours  in  week . 

. .  168 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  table  that  the  home 
has  three  times  as  much  of  the  child’s  time  as  does 
the  school.  This  may  be  further  emphasized  by 
an  estimated  time  schedule  for  a  whole  year. 

Hours  in  a  year . 8,736 

(On  the  basis  of  fifty-two  weeks  in  a  year) 


Hours  in  school  . 

Hours  in  church  . 

. 1,080 

_  104 

Hours  beyond  home  control . 

.  1,184 

Hours  spent  in  sleep . 

Hours  at  disposal  of  home . 

. 2,912 

. 4,640 

Hours  under  home  control . 

.  7,552 

Total  hours  in  year . 

..8,736 

182  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

Christian  parents  do  have  the  time  and  the  op¬ 
portunity  and  the  duty  of  teaching  their  children. 
During  school  hours,  the  teachers  take  them 
through  the  studies  which  lead  through  high 
school  and  to  college.  Men  pay  taxes  to  support 
the  teachers  for  this  service,  but  there  is  a  part 
of  education  which  is  not  secured  from  books 
or  from  public  schools.  It  is  this  that  must  be 
supplied  by  the  Christian  home.  If  Christian 
fathers  and  mothers  give  their  careful  attention 
to  this  problem,  it  will  save  them  many  heart¬ 
aches  and  save  their  children  from  many  pitfalls. 

Children  and  Stewardship.  The  Christian 
should  and  can  teach  the  stewardship  principle 
to  his  children.  He  can  set  the  example  by  his 
own  practice.  He  can  also  take  them  into  the 
family  councils  when  they  are  old  enough,  and 
talk  over  with  them  how  the  family  can  best  ad¬ 
minister  the  Lord’s  share.  The  growing  boy  and 
girl  have  some  rights  here.  It  is  not  fair  to  them 
for  the  father  to  do  all  the  giving.  Each  child 
should  have  a  stated  share  so  that  he  may  early 
form  the  habit  of  making  his  pledge,  and  of  pay¬ 
ing  it  regularly.  He  that  is  taught  to  be  faithful 
over  little  will  learn  to  be  faithful  over  much. 
Children  who  see  their  parents  pay  10  per  cent  or 
more  to  the  church  will  early  form  that  habit  when 
they  begin  to  earn  money  for  themselves. 

A  lady  wrote  of  her  older  boy:  “We  wanted 
him  to  be  a  tither.  He  earns  two  dollars  a  week. 
It  happened  that  the  first  special  offering  was 


The  Christian  and  His  Children  183 


for  - .  His  younger  brother  had  no  earning 

capacity,  so  the  older  gave  not  only  a  tithe  for 
himself,  but  also  one  for  his  brother.  We  are 
very  happy.’ ’  Well  may  the  Christian  father  and 
mother  be  happy  if  their  children  voluntarily  come 
to  the  decision  to  tithe  or  to  go  beyond  it.  The 
boy  or  man  who  reaches  the  decision  to  pay  10 
per  cent  or  more  of  his  income  has  made  a  new 
confession  of  his  Lord. 

The  church  and  the  children.  Stewardship 
habits  in  children  will  tie  them  up  to  the  church 
and  to  its  institutions.  Systematic  giving  to  the 
church  would : 

1.  Develop  a  personal  touch  and  responsibility. 
A  twelve-year-old  girl  who  has  been  giving  for 
several  years  thinks  that  the  church  would  almost 
have  to  close  if  she  were  not  there  every  Sunday 
with  her  gift. 

2.  Keep  the  church  in  touch  with  the  young 
folks  as  well  as  with  the  older  members.  When 
the  Every -member  Canvass  is  taken,  they  will  not 
be  overlooked. 

3.  Help  to  keep  children  informed  about  the 
church.  They  should  be  instructed  about  the  local 
budget  as  well  as  about  the  missionary  budget. 

4.  Help  to  hold  the  children  for  the  morning 
church  service.  The  sermon  is  always  more 
“interesting”  for  any  one  who  has  made  his  gift. 

5.  Help  to  increase  the  income  of  the  church 
later;  for  as  soon  as  children  become  wage  earn¬ 
ers,  their  offerings  will  increase.  When  they 


184  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

come  to  maturity,  large  increases  will  come  to  the 
church. 

6.  Help  to  increase  the  joy  and  pleasure  of  be¬ 
ing  a  member  of  the  church.  Giving  is  an  act  of 
worship,  and  children  have  a  personal  satisfac¬ 
tion,  a  spiritual  experience  in  placing  their 
contributions  in  the  Lord’s  treasury. 

Nine-tenths  of  those  who  join  the  church  do  so 
while  they  are  under  twenty  years  of  age.  This  is 
the  susceptible  age.  This  is  the  time  when  life’s 
ideals  are  forming.  The  statistics  show  that  there 
are  about  17,000,000  children  and  young  people  in 
Protestant  homes  in  the  United  States.  About 
15,500,000  are  enrolled  in  the  Sunday-schools. 
What  an  opportunity  for  the  wide-awake  church 
and  Bible  school  to  teach  the  principles  and  habits 
of  stewardship!  The  revival  of  Christian  stew¬ 
ardship,  so  long  hoped  for  and  prayed  for,  but 
never  systematically  planned  for,  may  be  started 
among  these  millions  of  young  people  if  the 
church  will  seriously  undertake  it.  “Let  it  be 
burned  into  the  minds  of  our  church  leaders  that 
a  church  which  cannot  save  and  train  its  own 
children  can  never  save  the  world.” 

Children  and  the  “best”  gifts.  It  was  stated  at 
the  beginning  of  this  chapter  that  Christian 
parents  owe  the  best  of  everything  to  their  chil¬ 
dren.  The  Apostle  Paul  said:  “Covet  earnestly 
the  best  gifts.”  (I  Cor.  12:  31.)  What  are  some 
of  the  best  gifts  which  Christian  parents  owe  to 
their  children? 


The  Christian  and  His  Children  185 

1.  A  good  name.  “A  good  name  is  rather  to  be 
chosen  than  great  riches.’ ’ 

2.  A  clean,  healthy  body. 

3.  The  best  possible  education.  “A  nation  that 
rides  in  automobiles  should  not  permit  its  chil¬ 
dren  to  walk  in  ignorance.” 

4.  The  ability  and  desire  to  do  honest,  hard 
work. 

5.  A  good  example,  and  companionship. 

6.  Christian  training  in  the  home  and  in  the 
church. 

7.  A  modest  inheritance  if  the  children  have 
been  taught  how  to  care  for  it. 

8.  Instruction  in  regard  to  the  use  and  abuse 
of  money,  which  involves  training  in  the  whole 
subject  of  Christian  stewardship. 

The  Christian  does  not  owe  a  fortune  to  his 
children.  He  does  not  owe  a  i  1  pull”  to  them 
which  would  make  it  easy  for  them  to  get  on  in 
life  without  honest  effort  and  initiative. 

H.  Gr.  Wells  has  named  a  list  of  those  whom 
he  considers  the  world’s  six  greatest  men:  Jesus, 
Buddha,  Aristotle,  Asoka,  Boger  Bacon,  and 
Lincoln.  Two  were  philosophers  and  scholars; 
two  were  temporal  rulers;  two  were  great  re¬ 
ligious  teachers.  Not  one  was  a  man  of  wealth. 
They  achieved  greatness  through  those  intangible 
values  which  money  cannot  buy.  This  is  the 
greatest  debt  of  parents  to  children:  to  give  to 
them  those  1 i precepts  of  the  Lord”  of  which 


186  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

David  wrote:  “More  to  be  desired  are  they  than 
gold,  yea  than  much  fine  gold.” 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  X 

1.  Why  do  parents  owe  their  children  a  good  education? 
Discuss  why  education  should  embody  Christian  ideals. 

2.  Explain  why  church  colleges  are  necessary. 

3.  Why  should  children  be  taught  to  save  even  small 
amounts?  Explain  how  money  grows  if  compounded. 

4.  Do  you  agree  that  children  should  be  fully  acquainted 
with  the  family  budget?  Why? 

5.  Why  do  the  children  of  the  present  age  need  even  more 
training  in  the  spending  of  money  than  ever  before?  What 
makes  prodigal  sons? 

6.  State  why  parental  responsibilities  cannot  be  delegated 
to  others.  Name  some  of  the  reasons  for  home  failures. 

7.  Compare  the  opportunities  of  parents,  school  teachers, 
and  Sunday-school  teachers  for  influencing  children.  Why 
is  control  of  the  spare  time  important? 

8.  Why  should  children  have  a  share  in  giving  the  tithe? 
Name  six  reasons  why  it  would  tie  them  closer  to  the  church. 

9.  What  are  the  “best”  gifts  which  parents  owe  to  their 
children  ? 

10.  If  readjustments  in  the  family’s  use  of  its  money  or  its 
time  are  necessary  for  the  sake  of  the  children,  they  should 
be  made  at  once. 


Chapter  XI:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  WILL 


“But  if  any  provideth  not  for  his  own,  and  especially  his 
own  household,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than 
an  unbeliever.” 

1  Timothy  5 :  8. 


“Thus  saith  Jehovah,  Set  thine  house  in  order,  for  thou  shalt 
die  and  not  live.” 


II  Kings  20:1  ( Isaiah  38:1). 


“Surely  every  man  at  his  best  estate  is  altogether  vanity, 
.  .  .  He  heapeth  up  riches  and  knoweth  not  who  shall  gather 
them.” 


Psalms  39 : 5-6 . 


“Be  not  afraid  when  one  is  made  rich,  when  the  glory  of 
his  house  is  increased;  for  when  he  dieth,  he  shall  carry 
nothing  away,  and  his  glory  shall  not  descend  after  him.” 

Psalms  49:16. 


“For  we  brought  nothing  into  the  world,  for  neither  can 
we  carry  anything  out.” 


I  Timothy  6 :  7. 


“Wise  men  die,  .  .  .  and  leave  their  wealth  to  others.” 

Psalms  49:10. 


Chapter  XI 


THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  WILL 

THE  hour  of  will-writing  is  a  solemn  hour. 

Into  his  will  the  testator  puts  his  most  seri¬ 
ous  reflections,  and  from  it  we  get  the  correct 
insight  into  his  character,  because  it  genuinely 
reveals  his  heart  and  his  conscience.  It  is  the 
testator  himself  who  speaks  though  he  is  gone.” 
A  will  is  often  the  most  important  document  a 
person,  even  of  small  means,  is  ever  called  upon 
to  prepare.  In  short,  a  will  may  be  a  man’s  monu¬ 
ment  or  his  folly. 

Omar  Khayyam  in  the  “Kubaiyat”  says: 

“The  Moving  Finger  writes;  and  having  writ, 

Moves  on:  nor  all  your  piety  nor  Wit 
Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a  line. 

Nor  all  your  Tears  wash  out  a  word  of  it.” 

The  Scriptures  teach  that  we  brought  nothing 
into  the  world  and  neither  can  we  carry  anything 
out.  The  Christian  who  has  accumulated  prop¬ 
erty  should  give  careful  consideration  to  its 
proper  disposal  after  his  death.  Certainly  he 
cannot  be  satisfied  to  spend  his  life  in  building  up 
his  fortune  and  then  make  no  provision  for  its 
proper  use  after  he  is  gone.  There  are  many 

public  men  today  who  are  attempting  to  dispose 

189 


190  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

of  most  of  their  wealth  even  before  they  die,  for 
they  feel  that  “to  die  rich  is  to  he  disgraced.” 
John  Wanamaker  said:  “No  man  onght  to  pile 
up  money  where  there  is  no  need  for  it  in  the 
world.  He  cannot  take  it  with  him  to  the  grave. ’  ’ 

Will-making  a\n  ancient  custom.  Wills  have  been 
known  from  the  earliest  periods  of  human  history. 
That  Jacob  made  a  will  cannot  be  doubted,  for  it 
is  recorded  that  Joseph  received  “a  portion  above 
his  brethren.”  Only  a  few  years  ago,  Petrie,  the 
renowned  Egyptologist,  unearthed  at  Kahun  the 
earliest  known  written  will.  By  it  the  testator 
settled  his  property  on  his  wife,  Teta,  for  life, 
but  empowers  her  to  dispose  of  it.  It  is  witnessed 
in  the  manner  prescribed  by  our  modern  forms. 

Seven  hundred  years  before  Christ,  Senna¬ 
cherib  left  a  will,  and  by  it  passed  certain 
“bracelets,  coronets,  and  other  precious  objects 
of  gold,  ivory,  and  precious  stones,  deposited  for 
safe  keeping  in  the  temple  of  Nebo.” 

Plato,  Aristotle,  Petrarch,  left  wills  of  struc¬ 
tural  and  sentimental  beauty,  and  so  did  Augustus 
Caesar  and  the  poet,  Virgil.  A  portion  of  the  will 
of  Columbus  is  preserved  in  Genoa. 

The  will  of  Martin  Luther  is  under  a  glass  case 
in  the  Heidelburg  Library.  The  will  of  Napoleon 
is  still  on  file.  The  will  of  Shakespeare  can  be 
seen  at  Somerset  House,  London.  Paul  Revere ’s 
will  is  one  of  the  most  perfectly  drawn  wills,  ac¬ 
cording  to  competent  lawyers.  The  wills  of  such 
men  as  Thomas  Jefferson,  Patrick  Henry,  Daniel 


The  Christian  and  His  Will  191 

Webster,  Henry  Clay,  and  Robert  E.  Lee  are  very 
interesting.  By  these  documents  the  testators 
freed  their  slaves  as  did  Washington,  in  his  last 
will.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  Abraham 
Lincoln,  while  an  able  lawyer  himself,  died  with¬ 
out  having  made  a  will. 

Cecil  Rhodes,  the  master  builder  of  South 
Africa,  among  other  things  directed  in  his  will 
that  his  body  should  be  buried  in  the  Matoppos 
on  the  hill  in  Rhodesia  which  he  used  to  visit,  the 
grandeur  and  loneliness  of  which  caused  him  to 
call  it  the  “view  of  the  world.’ ’  It  was  left  to  a 
humble  missionary,  John  Sheriff,  whose  occupa¬ 
tion  had  formerly  been  that  of  a  stone-cutter,  to 
carve  out  the  tomb  in  the  rock  for  the  last  resting 
place  of  this  noted  Englishman. 

Making  a  Christian  will .  The  Christian’s  will 
should  be  a  Christian  will.  If  all  the  processes 
which  created  his  fortune  have  been  Christian, 
so  must  the  processes  of  its  distribution.  There 
are  many  questions  which  confront  men  as  they 
sit  down  to  write  their  wills.  How  may  I  confess 
Christ  in  writing  my  will  ?  Shall  all  of  the  prop¬ 
erty  be  left  to  the  wife?  Shall  a  small  amount 
only  be  left  to  the  wife  and  the  bulk  of  it  left  to 
the  children?  Should  each  of  the  children  receive 
the  same  amount?  How  much,  if  any,  should 
be  left  to  the  church  and  other  religious  and 
charitable  institutions  ?  What  is  the  best  method 
of  leaving  money  to  religious  organizations? 
These  and  many  other  questions  the  man  of 


192  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

wealth  must  answer  as  he  writes  his  will.  If  he  is 
a  Christian,  they  must  be  answered  in  the  light  of 
New  Testament  stewardship.  Women  who  are 
responsible  for  the  distribution  of  wealth  also  face 
the  same  questions. 

Legal  points  and  suggestions  about  wills. 
There  are  a  number  of  legal  considerations  which 
should  be  remembered. 

1.  A  will  is  a  paper  disposing  of  one ’s  property, 
to  take  effect  after  death.  It  should  be  drawn  up 
by  an  intelligent  lawyer  and  signed  by  two  or 
more  persons  not  interested  in  the  estate.  The 
witnesses  must  sign  in  the  presence  of  each  other 
and  of  the  one  making  the  will.  Some  states  re¬ 
quire  three  witnesses,  hence  it  is  advisable  to  have 
even  three  or  four  witnesses  because  one  more 
witness  than  required  by  law  will  help  to  more 
easily  prove  the  validity  of  the  will.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  have  it  certified  by  a  notary  public. 
A  codicil  to  a  will  is  merely  an  addition,  the  same 
as  a  postscript  is  an  addition  to  a  letter,  but  the 
codicil  must  also  have  two  or  more  witnesses,  the 
same  as  the  original  will. 

2.  The  will  should  be  drawn  while  the  testator 
is  in  good  health.  It  is  stated  that  Lord  Coke 
once  wisely  remarked  that  4 ‘few  men,  pinched 
with  the  messenger  of  death,  have  a  disposing 
memory.”  Death-bed  wills  are  the  most  easily 
broken.  In  some  states  they  are  void. 

3.  An  executor  or  executrix  should  be  named  in 
the  will.  The  iron  hand  of  the  law  settles  a  man’s 


The  Christian  and  His  Will  193 

estate  if  he  does  not  leave  a  will;  or  if  he  fails  to 
name  an  executor,  the  state  will  name  one  at  in¬ 
creased  expense. 

4.  The  will  should  specifically  provide  for  the 
wife  and  all  of  the  children.  They  must  be  named 
as  to  the  amount  each  is  to  receive.  Under  the 
statute,  the  wife  is  entitled  to  certain  rights,  of 
which  even  a  will  cannot  deprive  her.  If  a  child 
is  to  receive  a  lesser  share,  or  to  be  disinherited, 
it  must  be  so  stated.  Omission  of  any  child’s 
name  in  the  will  does  not  bar  him  from  participa¬ 
tion.  A  husband  and  wife  may  make  a  joint-will, 
or  they  may  each  make  separate  wills. 

5.  A  will  may  be  stated  in  general  terms,  so  that 
it  will  cover  the  intentions  of  the  testator  even 
twenty-five  or  fifty  years  later. 

Under  extreme  conditions,  it  is  better  not  to  at¬ 
tempt  too  elaborate  a  will,  but  instead  to  prepare 
for  the  leading  wishes  of  the  testator.  After  such 
a  will  is  executed,  the  draft  of  a  more  satisfactory 
instrument  may  be  undertaken,  to  be  executed  as 
soon  as  possible. 

6.  In  case  it  is  desired  to  change  the  will,  the 
old  one  should  be  revoked  and  a  new  one  executed. 
If  the  latest  will  should  accidentally  be  destroyed 
or  lost,  it  does  not  reestablish  the  claims  of  a 
former  will,  however,  care  should  be  taken  that 
copies  of  the  will  are  filed  in  a  place  of  safety. 

A  testator  should  not  attempt  to  draw  up  his 
own  will.  A  lawyer  who  understands  the  laws 
about  wills  should  be  employed.  His  fee  will  not 


194  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

be  nearly  as  much  as  will  the  cost  of  a  law-suit 
over  a  poorly  drawn  will.  There  is  more  litiga¬ 
tion  over  poorly  prepared  wills,  and  ill-advised 
executorships  than  about  almost  any  other 
subject. 

“He  premises  his  wish  and  his  purpose  to  save 
All  dispute  among  friends  when  he’s  laid  in  his  grave ; 

Then  he  straightway  proceeds  more  disputes  to  create 
Than  a  long  summer’s  day  would  give  time  to  relate. 

He  writes  and  erases,  he  blunders  and  blots, 

He  produces  such  puzzles  and  Gordian  knots, 

That  a  lawyer,  intending  to  frame  the  thing  ill, 

Couldn’t  match  the  testator  who  makes  his  own  will.” 

7.  Prudence  demands  that  the  chance  of  loss  of 
the  will  be  minimized,  and  that  the  temptation  to 
fraudulent  alteration  and  destruction  be  removed. 
The  most  usual,  and  perhaps  the  safest  plan  is  to 
place  the  will  in  the  custody,  or  safety  deposit 
vault,  of  some  trustworthy  and  disinterested  per¬ 
son.  Another  protection  is  sometimes  found  in 
having  wills  executed  in  duplicate  and  held  in 
separate  custody.  Copies  of  wills  may  also  be 
made  and  deposited  for  safe-keeping  with  disin¬ 
terested  parties. 

8.  A  testator  who  has  property  in  different 
states  must  be  guided  by  the  laws  of  the  states 
where  the  property  is  held,  hence  a  different  pro¬ 
vision  would  need  to  be  made  in  each  state.  For 
instance,  in  California,  Montana  and  Georgia,  a 
testator  leaving  a  wife  or  descendants,  cannot  give 
more  than  one-third  to  charity. 

9.  Another  thing  that  testators  should  remem- 


The  Christian  and  His  Will  195 

ber  in  making  bequests  to  missionary  or  chari¬ 
table  organizations  is  that  such  a  will  must  be 
executed  for  a  certain  period,  before  it  becomes 
operative.  In  some  states,  if  the  testator  dies 
within  thirty  days  after  the  will  is  drawn,  it  is 
void;  in  another  state  the  period  is  ninety  days, 
and  in  still  another,  one  year. 

10.  There  has  been  considerable  litigation  over 
bequests  for  religious  and  benevolent  purposes 
on  two  other  accounts.  The  objects  of  the  be¬ 
quests  are  often  not  properly  named  or  described 
because  the  lawyer  drawing  the  will  is  not  fully 
advised  on  the  subject.  Sometimes  also,  the  laws 
of  the  state  in  which  the  bequest  is  to  be  carried 
out  do  not  permit  a  bequest  of  that  kind.  Hence  it 
would  be  wise  for  the  local  attorney  drawing  the 
will  to  consult  with  the  attorney  for  the  religious 
organization  to  which  the  bequest  is  to  be  made. 
There  would  be  no  expense  attending  such  a  pro¬ 
ceeding  and  much  litigation  would  be  avoided  if  it 
was  followed  out. 

Wives  should  be  consulted  and  provided  for * 
The  Christian  man,  in  making  his  will,  should 
consult  his  wife.  Their  joint  wishes  should  indi¬ 
cate  how  the  property  is  to  be  disposed  of.  If 
the  accumulation  of  the  income  has  been  a 
partnership  affair,  then  the  disposition  of  the 
capital  should  likewise  be  a  partnership  affair. 
It  is  more  likely  that  they  will  make  the  right  dis¬ 
position  together  than  separately.  Even  if  the 
estate  be  a  modest  one,  certainly  they  would  want 


196  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

to  remember  the  church  and  its  agencies  in  some 
degree.  One  man,  in  making  out  his  will,  put  the 
church  institutions  in  as  an  extra  heir,  giving 
them  an  equal  share.  Another  husband  and  wife, 
with  four  children,  one  of  whom  had  passed  away, 
divided  their  estate  equally  into  four  parts,  giving 
to  the  missionary  society  the  share  which  would 
have  gone  to  the  deceased  child.  The  other  three 
children  assented  to  this  division. 

The  man  whose  estate  is  large  has  a  more  diffi¬ 
cult  problem  in  the  disposal  of  his  property.  He 
will,  of  course,  want  to  provide  adequately  for  his 
wife  for  the  rest  of  her  life.  If  they  have  lived  to 
a  normal  old  age,  her  life  expectancy  will  not  be 
longer  than  from  ten  to  twenty  years.  At  that 
age  she  will  not  be  in  position  actively  to  adminis¬ 
ter  large  business  affairs.  Very  few  women  have 
had  such  training  that  they  are  able  to  make  wise 
investments  when  property  is  left  to  them.  They 
are  often  misled  into  making  many  poor  invest¬ 
ments  and  sometimes  losing  the  principal  alto¬ 
gether.  Government  statistics  show  that  the 
average  estate  lasts  only  seven  years.  Wives 
should  be  provided  for  in  such  a  way  that  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  their  days  may  be  spent  without  the 
worry  and  anxiety  of  business  management  or 
investments. 

The  dangers  of  leaving  great  wealth  to  children . 
The  Christian  must  next  consider  the  question  of 
whether  he  will  turn  over  the  bulk  of  his  wealth 
to  his  children,  or  distribute  it  for  the  benefit  of 


The  Christian  and  His  Will  197 

society  and  religion.  He  must  face  seriously  and 
honestly  the  question  as  to  how  much  it  is  really 
wise  to  leave  to  his  children.  He  should  ask  him¬ 
self  two  questions:  4 4 Will  the  fortune  be  safe 
with  my  boy?”  and  “Will  my  boy  be  safe  with  my 
fortune?”  If  it  be  true  that  large  fortunes  may 
be  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing  to  children,  then 
the  Christian  man  should  ponder  long  before  writ¬ 
ing  that  curse  into  his  will.  Of  course,  there  are 
some  children  of  wealthy  men  who  have  been 
trained  to  help  carry  on  the  business.  They  have 
the  same  ideals  about  how  the  business  should  be 
run  and  the  same  general  habits  of  thrift  and 
economy  as  have  their  fathers.  In  this  case  the 
business  is  safe  in  the  hands  of  the  heirs.  It  will 
not  be  dissipated  nor  squandered  in  riotous  liv¬ 
ing.  But  the  exceptions  along  this  line  are 
comparatively  few. 

Hear  these  statements  of  influential  men  who 
ought  to  know  whereof  they  speak.  Andrew 
Carnegie  said :  4 4  The  almighty  dollar  bequeathed 
to  children  is  an  almighty  curse.  No  man  has  the 
right  to  handicap  his  son  with  such  a  burden  as 
great  wealth. ’  ’ 

Boger  W.  Babson  raises  this  warning:  4 4 We 
are  striving  and  even  slaving  to  lay  up  prosperity 
for  our  children,  when  statistics  clearly  show  that 
the  more  we  lay  up  for  them,  the  worse  off  they 
are  going  to  be.  If  statistics  demonstrate  any 
one  thing,  they  demonstrate  that  the  less  money 
we  leave  our  children,  the  better  off  they  will  be.  ’  ’ 


198  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

He  says  further:  “A  few  years  ago  I  was 
employed  by  one  of  the  largest  publishing  houses 
in  this  country  to  make  a  study  of  American  cap¬ 
tains  of  industry.  In  connection  with  that  study, 
I  tabulated  their  ancestry.  These  were  the  sev¬ 
enty  greatest  manufacturers,  merchants,  and 
railroad  builders  who  have  made  America  by  de¬ 
veloping  the  fields,  the  forests,  the  mines,  and  the 
industries.  What  did  I  find?  I  found  that  only 
5  per  cent  of  these  captains  of  industry  are  the 
sons  of  bankers;  only  10  per  cent  are  sons  of 
manufacturers;  15  per  cent  are  sons  of  mer¬ 
chants;  while  over  30  per  cent  of  them  are  the 
sons  of  poor  preachers  and  farmers.” 

Dr.  Eliot,  President-emeritus  of  Harvard,  who 
has  had  opportunity  for  wide  observation,  says: 
“The  most  serious  disadvantage  under  which 
most  people  labor  is  in  the  bringing  up  of  their 
children.  It  is  well-nigh  impossible  for  a  very 
rich  man  to  defend  his  children  from  habits  of 
self-indulgence,  laziness,  and  selfishness.” 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  rich  men’s  sons  gen¬ 
erally  make  a  pretty  poor  showing  alongside  the 
sons  of  the  average  man.  There  are  exceptions, 
of  course,  hut  this  is  the  rule.  The  reason  is  that 
they  have  never  been  taught  to  work.  They  do 
not  desire  to  work.  They  should  he  made  to 
know  that  the  great  things  in  life  have  been  done 
by  the  men  who  labored  hard  and  long,  who  made 
supreme  sacrifices.  Burning  the  midnight  oil 
never  hurt  anybody.  The  great  discoveries,  the 


The  Christian  and  His  Will  199 

great  inventions,  the  great  explorations,  the  great 
literature,  the  great  successes  of  the  pioneer,  in 
fact  all  worth  while  human  achievements  have 
been  the  result  of  just  plain,  persevering  hard 
work.  Some  young  men  never  rise  above  medioc¬ 
rity  because  they  never  learn  to  work. 

A  woman  said  to  her  son:  “If  I  should  die, 
would  you  give  $5,000  to  our  foreign  missionary 
work?”  “No,”  was  the  son’s  reply,  without  a 
moment’s  hesitation.  “Very  well,”  said  the 
mother,  6  ‘  Then  I  must  make  arrangements  to  give 
it  while  I  am  alive.” 

Another  woman  said:  “I  am  leaving  a  sum  of 

$ - to  each  of  my  children,  and  I  hope  I  am 

not  leaving  enough  to  curse  them.  ’  ’ 

That  is  a  pretty  safe  principle  in  leaving  money 
to  children.  A  child  is  handicapped  from  the 
start  if  he  knows  he  does  not  have  to  do  a  day’s 
work  as  long  as  he  lives.  The  Christian  man 
must  not  sign  away  his  boy’s  opportunity  to  work. 
If  the  boy  has  the  stuff  in  him,  and  has  a  good 
education  and  a  fair  start,  he  will  covet  the  chance 
of  carving  out  his  own  career. 

Living  after  death .  A  well-to-do  churchman, 
who  recently  passed  away,  left  a  sum  of  money, 
the  interest  on  which  will  continue  his  annual 
gifts  to  the  local  congregation  and  to  the  national 
agencies  of  his  church.  Thus  he  extended  his 
regular  giving  after  his  death. 

Another  man  who  supports  a  missionary  has 
written  his  will  so  that  his  estate  will  provide  for 


200  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

the  support  of  a  missionary  as  long  as  time  shall 
last. 

There  are  many  such  examples  of  men  who  have 
left  money  as  permanent  funds  to  carry  on  Chris¬ 
tian  work  after  they  have  passed  on.  Sometimes 
it  is  a  memorial  fund,  in  memory  of  some  loved 
one.  In  such  cases,  the  principal  is  kept  sacred 
and  intact,  only  the  interest  being  used.  A  Chris¬ 
tian  thus  may  establish  a  fund  while  living  or  at 
death  which  will  be  working  a  hundred  or  a  thou¬ 
sand  years  after  he  is  gone. 

The  opposite  of  this  was  reported  in  a  southern 
state  where  two  men,  both  respectable  church 
members,  passed  away  leaving  estates  which, 
combined,  aggregated  nearly  $13,000,000,  yet 
neither  of  them  left  a  single  dollar  to  the  local 
church  or  to  any  college  or  benevolent  or  mis¬ 
sionary  agency  of  the  church.  Two  other  wealthy 
men,  one  the  treasurer  and  the  other  the  attorney 
of  an  old  and  reliable  missionary  organization, 
failed  to  include  that  organization  as  one  of  the 
beneficiaries  of  their  estates.  Each  had  often 
spoken  of  the  necessity  of  doing  so,  but  had 
neglected  the  making  of  such  a  provision.  Were 
these  wills  Christian  wills?  Why  were  Christian 
men  allowed  to  remain  in  the  church  through  all 
these  years  without  having  the  obligations  of 
Christian  stewardship  impressed  upon  them? 
Men  who  have  learned  that  a  part  of  the  income 
belongs  to  God,  ought  also  to  remember  that  a 
part  of  the  estate  also  belongs  to  Him,  and  that  by 


The  Christian  and  His  Will  201 

a  proper  arrangement  of  it,  they  may  project 
their  influence  for  good  works  long  after  they 
have  passed  away. 

To  what  Christia/n  organizations  should  money 
be  left ?  In  making  his  will  in  favor  of  religious 
or  charitable  institutions,  the  Christian  should 
consider  only  recognized  and  dependable  agencies. 
These  agencies  should  have  the  stamp  of  approval 
of  his  communion.  They  should  be  agencies 
which  are  run  on  sound  business  principles. 
These  boards  or  societies  should  have  the  element 
of  permanency  about  them  so  that  they  may  be 
able  to  carry  out  through  the  years  the  purposes 
for  which  the  money  is  given.  Some  of  these  in¬ 
stitutions  may  be  named  as  follows : 

1.  The  local  church.  Some  men  desire  to  leave 
money  to  local  churches  in  which  they  have  long 
held  their  membership.  These  sums  are  left 
either  as  direct  gifts  or  as  permanent  funds. 
There  are  two  sides  to  the  question  of  endowed 
churches.  In  the  case  of  downtown  churches  en¬ 
dowments  are  perhaps  desirable ;  however,  it 
would  be  unwise  to  leave  a  sum  of  money  to  a  local 
church  if  it  dried  up  the  fountains  of  liberality 
among  the  members.  The  members  of  the  aver¬ 
age  local  church,  if  they  are  practicing  the  princi¬ 
ples  of  stewardship,  can  supply  all  of  its  local 
needs,  and  have  money  for  “ others’ ’  as  well. 

2.  Christian  colleges.  Most  Christian  colleges 
are  still  in  need  of  large  sums  for  endowment. 
Since  the  future  leadership  of  the  church  depends 


202  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

largely  upon  church  colleges,  Christian  men  would 
do  well  to  remember  them  in  the  disposition  of 
their  property.  National  Boards  of  Education 
are  also  prepared  to  handle  estates  in  behalf  of 
higher  Christian  education.  Many  colleges  are 
named  after  donors  who  have  given  large  sums  to 
their  building  or  endowment  funds. 

3.  National  missionary  and  benevolent  organ¬ 
izations.  These  would  include  home  missions, 
foreign  missions,  benevolences,  ministerial  relief, 
church  erection,  etc.  This  is  an  unlimited  field. 
Millions  of  dollars  could  he  spent  wisely  by  those 
organizations  in  making  permanent  and  in  en¬ 
larging  their  work.  The  business  affairs  of  such 
organizations  are  administered  by  experienced 
men  and  women  whose  integrity  and  business 
judgment  are  unquestionable.  They  are  usually 
appointed  by  the  national  conventions  of  the 
churches  of  which  they  are  members.  Men  who 
have  large  sums  to  bequeath  can  safely  trust  their 
money  to  such  organizations. 

Freak  wills  should  be  avoided .  Some  people 
are  guilty  of  executing  what  have  been  termed 
“freak  wills,’ ’  that  is,  they  think  up  something 
which  they  believe  is  new  and  original.  This  is 
usually  unwise,  for  in  many  cases  the  provisions 
of  such  a  will  cannot  be  carried  out.  The  money 
then  must  lie  idle  and  accomplish  no  good  purpose 
in  the  world,  or  the  will  must  be  set  aside  by  the 
courts  when  it  is  ascertained  that  the  provisions 
of  the  will  never  can  be  carried  out. 


The  Christian  and  His  Will  203 

There  are  some,  also,  who  insert  many  well- 
nigh  impossible  conditions  in  their  wills  through 
theological  prejudice  and  suspicion.  Such  pro¬ 
visions  are  usually  unwise  and  lead  to  much  mis¬ 
understanding  and  litigation.  Christian  men 
who  are  members  of  boards  of  reliable  and  re¬ 
sponsible  Christian  institutions  are  honorable  and 
upright  men.  They  can  be  trusted  to  carry  out 
the  purpose  of  those  religious  institutions  of 
which  they  are  the  directors.  It  is  likely  that  a 
group  of  Christian  men  who  are  making  a  study  of 
such  matters  can  more  wisely  carry  out  the  details 
of  administration,  than  can  one  individual  who 
has  not  given  the  matter  careful  thought. 

It  is  not  being  suggested  here  that  an  individual 
does  not  have  a  right  to  say  how  his  money  is  to  be 
used.  He  does  have  that  right,  and  he  should 
exercise  it ;  but  if  his  money  is  to  go  to  missionary 
societies  or  to  Christian  colleges,  it  is  urged  that 
it  be  given  to  those  institutions  without  having 
embarrassing  conditions  attached  to  it. 

A  daily  paper  tells  the  story  of  an  eccentric 
woman  who  is  leaving  $1,000,000  for  a  dog  hospi¬ 
tal.  The  inscription  which  she  ordered  to  be 
carved  over  the  door  was  this :  “The  more  I  saw 
of  people,  the  more  I  thought  of  dogs.  ’  ’  This  is  a 
freak  will.  How  much  better  it  would  have  been 
if  she  had  known  and  loved  people  instead  of  dogs, 
and  had  given  her  money  for  the  uplift  of  the 
6  ‘  submerged  tenth  ’ 9  in  that  great  city. 

Many  years  ago,  a  testator  with  good  intentions, 


204  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

but  unwise  judgment,  bequeathed  “Fountain 
Square”  to  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  with  the  pro¬ 
vision  that  it  should  be  perpetually  used  as  a  free, 
city  market.  To  stay  within  the  technicalities  of 
the  law,  a  few  flower  venders  once  a  week  now 
come  to  “Fountain  Square”  to  sell  their  wares. 
But  it  is  in  no  sense  of  the  word  a  city  market. 

Other  methods  of  leaving  money . 

1.  Life  insurance  bequests.  Another  form  of 
bequests  to  religious  organizations  is  made  by  the 
use  of  life  insurance  policies.  An  individual  de¬ 
sires  to  give  $5,000  to  a  certain  institution,  but 
his  estate  might  not  permit  of  the  gift.  By  the 
payment  of  a  modest  sum  each  year,  he  could  pro¬ 
vide,  that  at  his  death,  the  amount  stated  in  the 
policy  should  be  paid  to  the  institution.  The  or¬ 
ganization  should  be  written  into  the  policy  as  the 
beneficiary,  and  the  policy  deposited  with  its 
treasurer.  The  advantage  of  this  kind  of  bequest 
is  that  the  amount  due  on  the  policy  is  paid  over 
in  cash,  without  further  process  of  law.  None  of 
it  is  paid  to  an  executor  or  absorbed  in  court  fees. 
None  of  it  is  lost  by  delay  in  turning  the  property 
into  cash.  The  insurance  company  pays  direct 
to  the  agency  the  amount  of  money  provided  in 
the  policy. 

2.  Annuity  bonds.  Annuity  bonds  make  a  safe 
investment  for  Christian  people  who  desire  to 
leave  property  to  a  missionary  or  charitable  or¬ 
ganization.  These  bonds  are  legal  documents 
which  require  the  organizations  issuing  them  to 


The  Christian  and  His  Will  205 

pay  to  the  donor  an  annuity  each  year  until  death. 
The  annuity  rates  depend  upon  the  age  of  the 
donor.  The  rates  vary  in  different  organizations, 
but  these  are  about  the  average : 

35  to  43  years  of  age  4  per  cent 
44  to  49  “  “  “  5  per  cent 
50  and  over  6  per  cent 

In  case  of  husband  and  wife,  a  survivorship  an¬ 
nuity  bond  may  be  issued.  The  organization  then 
pays  the  annuity  throughout  the  life  of  either, 
that  is,  when  one  dies,  the  annuity  is  continued  to 
the  survivor  until  death.  At  the  death  of  the 
survivor,  the  money  is  used  by  the  organization 
to  further  its  work.  This  makes  it  possible  for 
Christian  people  to  provide  for  themselves  a  sure 
income  as  long  as  they  live,  and  at  the  same  time 
provide  for  Christian  enterprises  after  they  are 
gone. 

In  some  respects,  annuity  bonds  are  better  than 
wills.  Those  who  can  convert  their  property  into 
cash  and  invest  in  annuity  bonds  have  in  reality 
administered  their  own  estates  while  yet  living. 
While  they  receive  the  income  on  the  property 
throughout  life,  at  death  an  annuity  becomes  an 
executed  gift  without  further  process  of  law. 
There  are  no  court  fees,  and  there  is  no  possibility 
of  the  wishes  of  the  donor  being  set  aside  by 
others. 

Gifts  made  upon  the  annuity  plan  also  escape 
the  inheritance  tax.  The  Federal  Government 
exempts  estates  under  $50,000,  but  estates  from 


206  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

$50,000  up  are  taxed.  The  rate  is  1  per  cent  on 
the  first  $50,000 ;  2  per  cent  on  the  next  $100,000 ; 
3  per  cent  on  the  next  $100,000 ;  4  per  cent  on  the 
next  $200,000 ;  the  rate  increasing  with  the  size  of 
the  estate.  Estates  in  excess  of  $10,000,000  are 
taxed  25  per  cent.  Many  states  also  have  inheri¬ 
tance  tax  laws  of  their  own.  One  man  whose 
estate  is  worth  about  $160,000  has  arranged  his 
affairs  as  follows: 

$50,000  to  go  to  each  of  his  two  children. 

50,000  in  annuity  bonds  for  himself  and  wife. 

10,000  as  a  trust  fund  to  a  mission  board,  the  income  to  be 
paid  to  an  adopted  son  during  life,  thereafter  to 
become  the  property  of  the  board. 

The  question  is  raised  by  some  as  to  the  safety 
and  reliability  of  annuity  bonds.  A  prominent 
lawyer  of  sound  judgment  and  wide  experience 
has  this  to  say : 

“Annuity  bonds  of  national  missionary  and 
benevolent  organizations,  which  have  the  support 
of  practically  the  whole  communion,  are  safe.  It 
is  quite  certain  that  no  communion  would  permit 
one  of  its  national  societies  to  go  into  bankruptcy, 
or  fail  to  fulfill  its  obligations. 

“Banks  and  trust  companies  fail,  notwithstand¬ 
ing  the  effort  of  the  national  and  state  govern¬ 
ments  to  exercise  a  supervision  over  them.  This 
supervision  after  all  can  only  be  a  partial  super¬ 
vision,  as  the  many,  many  failures  will  show. 
Therefore,  it  follows  that  money  left  in  trust  with 
a  bank  or  trust  company  is  probably  safer  than 


The  Christian  and  His  Will  207 

money  left  in  trust  with  an  individual.  Neverthe¬ 
less,  it  is  not  absolutely  safe.  Money,  however, 
invested  with  one  of  the  national  missionary  or¬ 
ganizations  under  an  annuity  contract  would  al¬ 
most  be  absolutely  safe.” 

3.  Trust  estates.  Christian  people  may  also 
create  Trust  Estates  which  will  help  to  advance 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  These  may  be  left  in  charge 
of  a  bank  or  trust  company,  or  in  charge  of  a 
college  or  missionary  board.  A  Trust  Estate  may 
provide  that  the  income  from  the  fund  shall  be 
used  for  the  support  of  the  wife  throughout  life, 
and  for  the  support  of  the  children  up  to  a  certain 
age  or  throughout  life,  thereafter  to  become  the 
property  of  the  organization.  Or  a  trust  may  be 
created  to  which  its  increment  shall  be  added  and 
compounded  until  it  reaches  a  certain  sum,  there¬ 
after,  said  sum  to  become  a  permanent  endowment 
fund.  One  man  recently  provided  that  his  estate 
of  about  $100,000  shall  be  held  in  trust,  the  income 
to  provide  for  the  wife  and  one  child  as  long  as 
they  live,  thereafter,  the  principal  to  go  to  a 
mission  board  of  his  own  church.  A  Trust  Estate 
may  be  provided  during  the  life  of  the  donor,  or 
it  may  be  created  by  will  at  his  death. 

When  a  person  has  clearly  in  mind  a  definite 
object  for  which  he  desires  to  create  a  trust  and 
that  object  is  cared  for  wisely  and  well  by  a  suit¬ 
able  missionary  corporation  of  permanence  and 
character,  having  power  to  accept  trusts  for  its 
own  purposes  and  suitable  equipment  for  the  man- 


208  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

agement  of  trust  funds,  lie  may  wisely  make  his 
donations  and  bequests  directly  to  such  corpora¬ 
tion  as  trustee  for  such  purpose. 

A  brightening  horizon .  It  is  encouraging  to 
know  that  an  increasing  number  of  men  and 
women  are  exercising  Christian  stewardship  in 
the  disposal  of  their  capital  at  death.  Large  sums 
of  money  are  being  left  to  college  and  mission 
boards,  and  to  benevolent  and  charitable  organ¬ 
izations.  The  religious  press  reports  many  such 
gifts.  Nearly  every  week  the  daily  papers  report 
that  some  rich  man  has  bequeathed  a  portion  of 
his  money  to  good  causes.  It  is  no  longer  con¬ 
sidered  “big”  news  for  a  will  to  include  some 
such  gift.  On  the  other  hand,  if  an  extremely 
wealthy  man  dies  leaving  nothing  to  charity  or  to 
religion,  the  public  feels  that  he  has  failed  to  do 
his  duty. 

On  this  point  the  Kansas  City  Star  said  edi¬ 
torially:  “A  wealthy  New  York  man  died  a  few 
days  ago  leaving  all  of  his  estate  to  his  family. 
The  community  has  a  right  to  expect  something 
better  than  this.  He  owed  everything  to  the  op- 
portunity  America  gave  him.  It  was  not  too  much 
to  think  he  would  return  a  part  of  his  wealth  to 
the  public.” 

A  fine  example,  the  opposite  of  this,  is  found  in 
the  will  of  the  late  Robert  H.  Stockton,  President 
of  the  Majestic  Manufacturing  Company,  St. 
Louis.  He  left  an  estate  of  about  $2,000,000,  of 
which  about  $1,800,000  was  left  to  organizations 


The  Christian  and  His  Will 


209 


of  his  own  church.  Two-fifths  of ‘this  amount  will 
go  to  a  Christian  college  bearing  his  own  name, 
and  one-fifth  to  each  of  three  departments  of  the 
national  missionary  society  of  his  communion. 
His  relatives  expressed  themselves  as  being 
highly  pleased  with  the  provisions  of  the  will. 

The  public  conscience  is  gradually  being  Chris¬ 
tianized.  This  Christianized  public  conscience  is 
having  its  influence  on  the  lives  of  men  of  wealth. 
These  influences  will  continue  until  all  of  men’s 
activities  in  relation  to  wealth,  both  in  living  and 
in  dying,  are  completely  dominated  by  the  will  of 
Christ;  until  not  only  men  themselves,  but  the 
wealth  which  they  have  helped  to  create,  shall 
have  been  dedicated  to  the  completion  of  the  un¬ 
finished  task,  which  is  pressing  so  heavily  upon 
the  church  of  to-day. 

DISCUSSION  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  XI 

1.  Why  should  careful  consideration  be  given  to  the  making 
of  a  will?  Do  you  agree  with  the  statement,  “To  die  rich  is 
to  be  disgraced  ?” 

2.  Give  some  examples  of  ancient  and  modern  wills. 

3.  Name  the  ten  legal  points  and  suggestions  about  making 
wills. 

4.  Why  is  it  wise  to  have  the  husband  and  wife  make  out 
the  will  in  partnership? 

5.  Discuss  and  give  examples  of  the  danger  of  leaving  large 
wealth  to  children.  Give  the  statements  of  some  noted  men. 

6.  How  may  a  person  extend  his  influence  for  good  after 
death  ?  Give  examples. 

7.  Discuss  the  section  concerning  to  what  Christian  or¬ 
ganizations  money  should  be  left. 

8.  Why  is  a  freak  will  inadvisable?  What  do  you  think  of 
the  eccentric  woman  who  left  $1,000,000  for  a  dog  hospital? 

9.  Discuss  Life  Insurance  bequests,  Annuity  Bonds,  and 


210  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

Trust  Estates.  Why  are  Annuity  Bonds  in  some  respects 
better  than  a  will? 

10.  Why  has  a  wealthy  man  failed  to  do  his  duty  if  he 
leaves  nothing  to  charity  or  to  religion?  Is  such  a  will  a 
Christian  will? 

11.  If  you  were  writing  your  will,  and  owned  property 
valued  at  $50,000  or  $200,000  or  $1,000,000,  how  would  you 
distribute  it? 


Chapter  XII:  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS 
CHURCH’S  FINANCIAL  METHODS 


“Not  slothful  in  business;  fervent  in  spirit;  serving  the 
Lord.” 

Romans  12:11. 

“Therefore  my  beloved  brethren  be  ye  steadfast,  unmovable, 
always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  for  as  much  as 
ye  know  that  your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.” 

1  Corinthians  15:58. 

“Let  each  man  do  according  as  he  hath  purposed  in  his 
heart;  not  grudgingly,  or  of  necessity:  for  God  loveth  a 
cheerful  giver.  And  God  is  able  to  make  all  grace  abound 
unto  you;  that  ye,  having  always  all  sufficiency  in  everything, 
may  abound  unto  every  good  work.” 

11  Corinthians  9:7-8. 

“It  shall  come  to  pass  .  .  .  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord’s 
house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and 
shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills;  and  all  nations  shall  flow 
into  it.” 

Isaiah  2:2. 

“Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  let  each  one  of  you  lay  by 
him  in  store,  as  he  may  prosper,  that  no  collections  be  made 
when  I  come.” 


1  Corinthians  16:2. 


Chapter  XII 

THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  HIS  CHURCH’S  FINANCIAL 

METHODS 

RING-  the  death  knell  for  the  old  haphazard 
methods  of  church  finance.  They  shall  not 
be  given  enough  dignity  to  even  name  them  here. 
Every  reader  knows  them,  and  he  also  knows  how 
sadly  they  have  failed.  He  knows  how  the  church 
has  had  to  limp  along  through  the  years,  often 
being  brought  into  disrepute  by  these  incomplete 
and  un-Christian  financial  methods.  The  appeal 
has  been  wrong  both  as  to  basis  and  motive. 

Now  the  Christian,  whether  he  be  bishop,  min¬ 
ister,  elder,  deacon,  steward,  or  finance  commit¬ 
teeman  is  under  obligation  to  apply  business  sense 
to  the  work  of  the  Kingdom.  Surely  with  an  en¬ 
lightened  conscience  on  stewardship,  no  Christian 
will  continue  to  be  “slothful  in  business”  with  his 
church’s  financial  affairs.  Men  carefully  and 
systematically  organize  for  every  other  line  of 
business;  why  shouldn’t  they  do  the  same  in  the 
Lord’s  business? 

The  Every-member  Canvass,  if  rightly  pre¬ 
pared  for  and  prayerfully  carried  out  in  all  its 

details,  is  the  best  plan  yet  devised  for  enlisting 

213 


214  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

the  whole  membership.  Many  of  the  community 
campaigns  are  conducted  on  the  Every-member 
Canvass  plan.  One  of  these  leaders  has  said  that 
he  got  his  first  idea  for  careful  organization  from 
a  well  wrought  out  Every-member  Canvass  in  his 
own  church.  The  church  may  really  lead  the  state 
and  the  nation  in  up-to-date  plans,  if  it  only  will. 

A  regular  annual  deficit  is  like  a  mill-stone 
around  the  neck  of  a  congregation.  It  is  a  dis¬ 
couraging,  unholy,  and  un-Christian  thing  to  have 
a  deficit.  Many  churches  have  had  deficits  so 
long  that  they  seem  to  go  on  the  assumption  that 
church  deficits  were  foreordained  and  predesti¬ 
nated  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  They 
expect  a  deficit,  they  plan  for  a  deficit,  and  most 
churches  usually  have  one.  There  is  absolutely 
no  scriptural  authority  or  precedent  or  implica¬ 
tion  for  church  deficits.  It  was  expressly  com¬ 
manded  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  writing  to  the 
church  at  Corinth,  that  each  one  “lay  by  in  store 
as  God  has  prospered  him  that  there  be  no  col¬ 
lections”  (or  deficit)  when  he  came.  The  Every- 
member  Canvass,  backed  by  Scriptural  ideals  of 
stewardship,  will  forever  eliminate  church  deficits. 

The  plan  has  had  the  test  of  experience.  It 
has  been  carefully  tried  out  in  many  communions 
and  by  thousands  of  churches.  Not  one  failure 
has  ever  been  reported,  where  the  advance  prepa¬ 
ration  was  thorough,  and  where  the  suggestions 
were  followed  in  detail. 

The  Every-member  Canvass  is  the  personal  so- 


Christian  and  Church's  Financial  Methods  215 

licitation  of  every  member  of  the  congregation, 
for  two  pledges  on  the  weekly  plan,  one  for  the 
local  expense  budget,  the  other  for  the  missionary 
budget,  the  solicitation  being  made  by  trained 
canvassers  going  two  by  two. 

An  alphabet  of  successful  Every-member  Can¬ 
vass  plans  and  other  suggestions  is  here  given. 

A .  Advance  Preparation .  The  first  thing  to 
do  about  the  Every-member  Canvass  is  to  put  it 
off.  A  church  cannot  decide  one  week  to  have  an 
Every-member  Canvass  and  the  next  week  suc¬ 
cessfully  carry  it  out.  Advance  preparation  is 
absolutely  necessary.  The  minister,  the  church 
board,  and  the  canvassers  must  all  be  prepared. 

The  number  of  canvassers  should  be  about  one- 
tenth  of  the  membership  of  the  church.  Thus  a 
church  of  two  hundred  members  would  need  about 
twenty  canvassers.  The  church  of  twelve  hundred 
members  would  need  one  hundred  and  twenty 
canvassers.  These  should  be  arranged  in  pairs. 
The  teams  should  be  assigned  in  advance,  and  the 
whole  group  should  have  two  or  three  special 
meetings  for  training  before  the  day  of  the 
canvass. 

B.  Budgets ,  local  and  missionary .  Two  bud¬ 
gets  should  be  prepared  before  making  the  Every- 
member  Canvass. 

(1)  The  local  expense  budget.  This  budget 
should  include  the  minister’s  and  helpers’ 
salaries,  janitor  service;  heat;  fight;  music;  re- 


216  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

pairs;  etc.  It  should  be  adequate  to  care  for  all 
of  the  local  work  for  the  whole  year. 

(2)  The  missionary  budget.  This  should  in¬ 
clude  all  offerings  for  missions,  benevolence,  edu¬ 
cation,  and  any  other  work  outside  the  local 
church.  Many  churches  make  the  missionary 
budget  the  same  amount  as  the  local  expense 
budget,  reaching  the  ideal,  “as  much  for  others  as 
for  ourselves.’ ’  If  each  contributor  gives  dollar 
for  dollar,  that  aim  is  easily  reached.  However, 
many  churches  have  a  missionary  budget  that  far 
exceeds  the  local  expense  budget. 

C .  Canvassers  and  church  informed .  The 
canvassers  should  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  two  budgets.  They  should  know  every  item 
included  in  each,  and  the  whole  church  should  also 
be  informed  about  these  budgets.  Every  member 
of  the  church  should  fully  understand  the  amount 
of  money  necessary  to  carry  on  the  local  work 
and  the  aims  set  by  the  committee  for  the  mission¬ 
ary  task.  The  members  should  be  asked  to  stay 
at  home  on  the  Sunday  afternoon  of  the  canvass 
until  the  canvassers  have  called.  If  the  members 
of  the  church  are  fully  informed  about  all  the 
plans,  they  will  gladly  cooperate. 

D .  Do  the  job  in  one  day.  The  canvass  on  a 
Sunday  afternoon  has  been  found  most  convenient 
and  successful.  It  is  the  Lord’s  business,  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  done  on  the 
Lord’s  Day.  The  canvassers  will  give  their  time 
enthusiastically  for  this  one  day’s  service.  There 


Christian  and  Church's  Financial  Methods  217 

is  an  inspiration  in  having  the  whole  church  work¬ 
ing  at  a  given  task  at  a  given  time.  By  careful 
organization,  practically  the  whole  membership 
may  be  reached  in  a  single  Sunday  afternoon. 

One  church  divided  the  city  into  districts  and 
then  wards,  having  a  captain  over  each  ward. 
Each  team  of  canvassers  had  only  about  ten  or 
twelve  names.  The  organization  was  so  thorough 
that  out  of  a  membership  of  twelve  hundred, 
eight  hundred  signed  pledges  were  returned  at  the 
close  of  the  day.  The  Kansas  City  slogan,  “Get 
it  done,  ’  ’  will  work  best  if  it  is  done  in  one  day. 

E .  Every  member  canvassed  for  a  weekly 
pledge .  It  is  to  be  an  Every-member  Canvass; 
not  an  every-house  canvass  or  an  every-father 
canvass,  but  an  Every-member  Canvass;  father, 
mother,  and  children  should  each  be  asked  for  a 
pledge.  The  children  should  have  the  opportu¬ 
nity  of  signing  their  own  pledges.  They  will  often 
sign  more  quickly  and  more  liberally  than  adults. 

The  pledges  should  be  weekly  pledges,  and  paid 
weekly  by  each  member  of  the  family,  and  not  by 
the  father  once  a  year  by  check.  The  scriptural 
authority  for  this  is  I  Cor.  16:2 — “Upon  the  first 
day  of  the  week  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in 
store,  as  God  hath  prospered  him.,,  .  .  . 

F.  Follow-up  and  check-up  missing  members . 
Those  who  are  missed  on  the  canvassing  Sunday 
should  be  followed  up  the  same  week.  The  same 
pair  of  canvassers  should  keep  the  list  of  miss¬ 
ing  members,  and  be  responsible  for  turning 


218  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

in  their  names  with  a  report  of  their  pledges.  It 
is  not  fair  to  let  any  member  escape  from  the  op¬ 
portunity  of  making  a  pledge.  Each  member 
needs  the  visit  of  the  canvassers*  and  he  also  needs 
to  give  in  order  to  maintain  his  interest  in  the 
church.  When  visits  are  made*  the  canvassers 
should  talk  about  the  canvass,  not  the  weather 
or  the  ailments  of  the  family.  The  period  of  fif¬ 
teen  minutes  in  which  they  are  in  the  home  is 
vital.  They  either  win  or  lose  the  fellowship  of 
the  member  for  the  whole  year  in  that  short  con¬ 
ference.  Hence  they  should  be  in  a  prayerful 
mood,  and  present  the  appeal  for  a  pledge  on  a 
high  plane.  ‘ ‘One  hundred  per  cent  of  all  the 
members  giving”  should  be  the  slogan  of  every 
church. 

G.  Get  the  pledge  paid  every  week.  What 
shall  it  profit  a  church  if  it  get  a  pledge  from 
every  member,  and  secures  the  payment  from  only 
half  the  members?  If  a  member  lags  behind  in 
his  payments,  it  will  not  be  long  until  he  lags  be¬ 
hind  in  his  attendance.  It  is  good  psychology  and 
good  religion  to  get  the  pledges  paid  weekly.  If 
this  is  not  done,  the  church  will  eventually  lose  the 
money  and,  in  all  probability,  lose  the  man  as  well. 
Each  member  unconsciously  says  to  the  church: 
“Use  me  or  lose  me.” 

H .  Hitch  up  tithing  to  the  Every-member  Can - 
v ass.  The  tithing  principle  for  the  average  mem¬ 
ber  is  good.  He  can  afford  to  give  at  least  a 
tenth.  This  will  put  his  giving  on  a  systematic 


Christian  and  Church's  Financial  Methods  219 

basis.  Those  who  are  well-to-do  should,  of 
course,  give  more  than  10  per  cent,  and  when  they 
are  properly  educated,  they  will  be  glad  to  do  so. 
The  man  who  recognizes  that  a  certain  portion  of 
his  income,  a  tenth  or  more,  belongs  to  God,  is 
always  willing  to  make  his  subscription  to  his 
church  accordingly.  He  has  already  settled  the 
question  about  his  giving.  The  Every-member 
Canvass  helps  him  to  distribute  his  gifts  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  best  wisdom  of  the  church. 

I,  Interest  the  Sunday-school .  A  great  host  of 
the  church  members  of  to-morrow  are  in  the  Sun¬ 
day-schools  of  to-day.  Many  Sunday-schools 
have  now  installed  the  duplex  envelope.  All  of 
the  pupils,  from  the  beginners  clear  through  to  the 
oldest  adult  classes,  are  given  packages  of  duplex 
envelopes.  The  offering  in  one  side  of  the  enve¬ 
lope  is  for  the  local  expenses  of  the  Sunday- 
school  and  church,  and  that  in  the  other  side  for 
the  Sunday-school’s  share  of  the  total  missionary 
budget  of  the  church.  Thus  tens  of  thousands  of 
children  are  now  making  regular  weekly  gifts.  In 
this  way,  a  new  generation  of  givers  is  being 
raised  up  that  will  help  to  permeate  the  whole 
future  church  with  the  ideals  of  stewardship. 

J.  Justify  enlarging  missionary  budgets . 
Many  churches  make  a  mistake  in  announcing  at 
the  beginning  of  the  Every-member  Canvass  that 
if  the  members  of  the  church  will  subscribe  to  the 
budget,  no  other  appeals  will  be  made  during  the 
year.  Thus  many  men  make  only  nominal  pledges 


220  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

during  the  canvass,  and  are  shielded  for  a  whole 
year  by  this  unwise  promise  of  the  Finance  Com¬ 
mittee.  No  one  can  foretell  what  emergencies 
may  arise  during  the  year.  If  an  emergency  does 
arise,  the  members  of  the  church  have  a  right  to 
know  it,  and  they  have  a  right  to  the  opportunity 
of  helping  to  answer  it. 

Furthermore,  many  of  the  missionary  budgets 
are  at  the  minimum  instead  of  the  maximum,  and 
opportunity  should  be  given  to  persons  of  large 
incomes  to  make  additional  offerings  to  missions, 
where  they  will  not  subscribe  all  they  expect  to 
give  through  the  missionary  budget.  The  Every- 
member  Canvass  is  not  a  plan  to  keep  the  mem¬ 
bers  from  being  too  liberal,  but  rather  a  plan  to 
encourage  liberality  in  every  way.  Until  the 
Great  Commission  has  been  fully  carried  out,  the 
missionary  budgets  should  be  enlarging  from  year 
to  year. 

K.  Keep  on  the  lookout  for  something  new . 
Wide-awake  ministers  and  finance  committees  will 
be  on  the  lookout  for  new  suggestions  and  methods 
to  keep  their  churches  interested  in  the  missionary 
program.  Many  home  and  foreign  missionaries 
are  available  as  speakers.  They  always  bring  in¬ 
spiring  and  informing  messages.  When  a  mis¬ 
sionary  visits  the  church,  the  children  should  be 
given  the  opportunity  of  seeing  him  and  hearing 
him.  The  primary  and  junior  children  will  be 
interested  in  missionary  stories.  The  whole 
church  will  hear  his  message  gladly  about  the 


Christian  and  Churclis  Financial  Methods  221 

progress  of  the  Lord’s  work  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  Stereopticon  slides  are  always  available 
from  nearly  all  of  the  mission  boards.  These 
help  to  keep  before  the  people  information  about 
the  work  that  they  are  helping  to  support. 

L.  “Lift  up  your  eyes  and  look.”  Here  is  an 
opportunity  to  get  the  unfinished  task  before  the 
whole  church.  In  America  there  are  great  unoc¬ 
cupied  fields  where  there  is  no  Protestant  church. 
There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  orphan  chil¬ 
dren  and  aged  disciples.  There  are  great  multi¬ 
tudes  of  “new  Americans”  who  are  coming  to 
our  shores  every  year.  The  Negro  problem  is 
still  before  us  in  all  of  its  complications,  and  is 
still  unsolved. 

The  unoccupied  areas  in  foreign  lands  are  stag¬ 
gering.  There  are  yet  millions  of  people  who 
have  never  heard  the  name  of  Christ,  and  great 
cities  and  areas  where  no  missionary  is  located 
telling  the  Gospel  story.  The  church  members 
should  know  all  of  this,  and  when  they  know,  they 
may  more  easily  be  enlisted  to  help  change  the 
situation. 

M.  Missionary  Education.  The  possibilities 
of  missionary  education  are  limitless.  There  are 
missionary  stories  and  picture  cards  for  begin¬ 
ners,  and  for  primary  children.  Systematic  mis¬ 
sionary  lessons  for  the  junior,  intermediate  and 
adult  departments  of  the  Bible-school  are  now 
available.  There  are  missionary  lessons  of  suit¬ 
able  length  to  be  given  at  the  opening  or  closing 


222  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

of  the  Bible  school  exercises.  There  are  mission 
study  hooks  prepared  for  church  schools  of  mis¬ 
sions,  and  for  mission  study  classes.  These  in¬ 
clude  both  home  and  foreign  missions. 

The  Church  School  of  Missions  gives  a  great 
opportunity  to  enlist  all  the  membership  in  the 
study  of  graded  missionary  lessons,  for  a  six  to 
eight  weeks’  period.  There  is  a  wealth  of  mis¬ 
sionary  material  for  ministers  and  other  speakers 
on  missions.  There  are  pamphlets  and  books  for 
women’s  missionary  societies.  All  churches  pre¬ 
pare  a  series  of  at  least  twelve  missionary  lessons 
for  Young  People’s  societies.  There  are  many 
magazines  both  for  children  and  for  adults  given 
over  entirely  to  the  subject  of  missions.  Any 
church  that  wants  to  be  missionary  has  the  mis¬ 
sionary  material  available  to  help  it  become  such. 
The  Missionary  Committee  should  see  to  it  that 
the  right  material  gets  into  the  hands  of  those 
responsible  for  the  instruction  in  the  different 
departments  of  the  church. 

N .  New  members  and  non-givers  solicited . 
The  growing  church  is  receiving  new  members 
from  time  to  time.  These  new  members  should 
be  taught,  even  before  they  become  members,  that 
being  a  Christian  involves  the  practice  of  Chris¬ 
tian  stewardship.  They  should  be  asked  to  make 
their  pledges  to  the  church  budgets  with  the  same 
authority  that  they  are  asked  to  make  the  confes¬ 
sion  or  obey  their  Lord  in  Christian  baptism. 
Unless  they  become  givers,  they  will  be  lost  to 


Christian  and  Church's  Financial  Methods  223 

the  church.  A  new  member  who  establishes  the 
habit  of  weekly  giving  for  the  first  year,  will  have 
developed  such  a  vital  interest,  that  he  will  there¬ 
after  be  both  a  financial  and  a  spiritual  asset  to 
the  church. 

The  non-givers,  those  who  might  have  been 
away  from  home  when  the  canvass  was  taken,  or 
who  for  other  reasons  did  not  make  a  pledge, 
should  be  visited  again  some  time  during  the  year 
and  asked  for  a  pledge.  A  church  should  never 
lose  sight  of  the  last  man  on  its  membership  roll, 
and  it  may,  by  prayerful  and  wise  methods,  by 
good  fellowship  and  Christian  perseverance, 
ultimately  win  the  last  member  to  have  financial 
fellowship. 

0.  Observe  special  days  for  education .  There 
are  certain  seasons  of  the  year  when  special  em¬ 
phasis  may  be  placed  upon  certain  great  phases  of 
Christian  work.  Many  churches  have  such  a  time 
at  Thanksgiving,  Christmas,  Easter,  and  Chil¬ 
dren’s  Day.  Some  have  special  days  or  months 
for  emphasis  on  home  missions,  foreign  missions, 
and  stewardship.  This  gives  opportunity  for 
sermons  on  these  subjects. 

J ohn  R.  Mott  made  a  study  of  twenty-five  great 
American  churches  that  were  doing  the  most  for 
missions,  and  he  discovered  that  the  ministers  of 
these  churches  preached  at  least  five  foreign  mis¬ 
sionary  sermons  each  year.  One  of  the  bishops 
of  England  asked  the  preachers  under  his  charge 
to  preach  twenty  missionary  sermons  each  year. 


224  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

An  American  missionary  leader  has  suggested 
that  in  order  to  keep  the  spirit  of  missions  alive, 
a  minister  should  preach  at  least  twelve  sermons 
each  year  upon  the  various  phases  of  home  and 
foreign  missionary  work. 

P.  Prepare  for  next  year .  The  committee  in 
charge  of  the  Every-member  Canvass  should  be 
looking  forward  to  next  year.  The  successful 
plans  should  be  tabulated  for  future  use.  The 
mistakes  of  the  past  should  be  carefully  noted  and 
avoided.  New  suggestions  should  be  gathered 
during  the  year.  The  experience  of  other 
churches  should  be  solicited  so  that  the  testimony 
of  many  would  help  to  increase  the  enthusiasm. 
A  finance  committee  which  is  alert  and  whose  aim 
is  to  enlist  the  entire  membership,  will  seek  out 
every  method  of  doing  the  thing  better  each  year. 
The  canvassers  who  were  especially  successful 
should  give  their  experiences  to  those  less  suc¬ 
cessful,  and  in  pairing  the  men  off  for  the  next 
year,  it  is  well  to  balance  up  the  teams. 

Q .  Quarterly  remittances  of  the  missionary 
budget.  If  the  money  is  being  paid  weekly  into 
the  missionary  budget,  the  Missionary  treasurer 
should  be  instructed  to  forward  it  either  quarterly 
or  monthly.  Monthly  remittances  are  really 
preferable.  The  money  should  not  be  allowed  to 
accumulate.  The  mission  boards  of  the  church 
have  their  obligations  and  they  must  be  met 
monthly.  When  the  churches  fail  to  send  their 
remittances,  the  boards  must  borrow  money.  Con- 


Christicm  and  Church's  Financial  Methods  225 

siderable  money  is  absorbed  each  year  in  interest 
that  might  be  saved  if  churches  had  the  habit  of 
sending  their  offerings  regularly. 

There  is  also  a  temptation  if  the  missionary 
money  accumulates,  to  use  it  for  local  expenses. 
It  is  a  rare  thing  when  missionary  money  is  bor¬ 
rowed  for  local  expenses  to  ever  have  it  paid  back. 
There  are  many  examples  of  otherwise  honorable 
church  boards  which  have  taken  from  one  hundred 
to  one  thousand  dollars  of  missionary  money 
“  temporarily/  ’  and  never  repaid  it.  This  is 
breaking  faith  with  the  donors  to  say  the  least,  if 
it  is  not  downright  dishonesty. 

R.  Report  results  regularly.  The  members  of 
the  church  who  are  giving  the  money  expect  re¬ 
ports  from  time  to  time,  as  to  how  the  money  is 
being  received  and  used.  They  have  a  right  to 
expect  such  reports.  At  least  once  a  quarter,  a 
full  statement  should  be  made  of  receipts,  both  to 
the  local  and  missionary  budgets.  If  the  church 
is  running  behind  in  either  or  both  budgets,  it  will 
be  much  better  to  make  such  a  report  frankly  to 
the  whole  congregation,  rather  than  to  wait  until 
the  end  of  the  year.  The  minister  and  the  finance 
committee  owe  it  to  the  church  to  exercise  the  ut¬ 
most  frankness  in  all  of  the  church’s  financial 
affairs,  for  if  all  are  expected  to  give,  and  to  con¬ 
tinue  their  giving,  all  must  know.  When  a  receipt 
returns  from  a  mission  board,  it  takes  but  a  mo¬ 
ment  to  hold  it  up  before  the  congregation,  telling 


226  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

them  how  the  money  which  they  have  contributed 
has  been  used. 

S.  Systematize  stewardship  teaching .  The 
teaching  of  stewardship  is  as  yet  somewhat  dis¬ 
organized,  hut  it  should  be  carefully  systematized 
so  that  all  will  have  some  instruction  each  year. 
There  are  many  pamphlets  on  the  subject  which 
may  he  distributed  through  the  mails  to  all  the 
members.  There  are  a  number  of  good  books  that 
may  be  used  in  study  classes  or  in  church  schools 
of  missions.  Stewardship  lessons  adapted  for  the 
Sunday-school  classes  are  now  being  prepared. 
There  should  be  occasional  sermons  on  the  subject. 
In  preparation  for  the  Every-memher  Canvass, 
the  stewardship  message  should  reach  every  mem¬ 
ber  prior  to  the  coming  of  the  canvassers.  The 
church  that  is  carefully  and  systematically  taught 
will,  before  long,  be  practicing  the  principles  of 
stewardship. 

T.  Tabulate  tithersy  records .  Many  of  those 
who  practice  systematic  stewardship  are  tithers. 
Some,  of  course,  are  giving  far  more  than  10  per 
cent,  but  it  is  amazing  how  many  people  are  giving 
less  than  even  the  tenth.  There  are  those  who 
say,  “I  think  I  am  giving  a  tenth  already,”  but 
when  they  go  to  figure  it  up,  the  amount  is  nearly 
always  less.  A  church  with  four  hundred  mem¬ 
bers,  which  had  fifty  people  who  were  giving  the 
tenth,  discovered  that  those  fifty  members  were 
actually  giving  more  than  the  other  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty.  Such  occasional  announcements 


Christian  and  Church's  Financial  Methods  227 

would  help  to  get  others  to  more  carefully  con¬ 
sider  giving  a  tenth.  Testimonials  can  be  secured 
from  neighboring  churches. 

U.  Unify  the  whole  program .  The  whole  pro¬ 
gram  should  be  carefully  worked  out  so  that  every 
department  of  the  church  is  working  in  harmony. 
One  department  should  not  he  nullifying  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  another.  Missionary  education,  stew¬ 
ardship,  and  the  Every-member  Canvass  should 
all  he  parts  of  a  common  whole.  Success  is  not 
the  result  of  spasms  or  emotions.  It  comes  hy 
carefully  coordinated  plans  and  methods  which 
help  to  keep  the  whole  church  working  toward  a 
common  goal. 

V .  Vitalize  and  visualize .  “The  letter  killeth 
but  the  spirit  maketh  alive.”  No  plan  will  work 
without  the  spirit.  There  should  be  a  vitalizing 
influence  in  the  whole  program.  The  local  task 
and  the  missionary  task  should .  be  made  real. 
Missionary  plans  and  pageants  will  help  the 
church  to  visualize  its  task.  Programs  for  special 
days  are  of  great  assistance.  Charts,  maps,  and 
pictures  may  be  prepared  which  help  to  visualize 
the  facts  and  needs. 

One  church,  previous  to  its  Every-member  Can¬ 
vass,  had  what  it  called  a  “world  exposition/ 9 
Twenty-five  booths  were  arranged  with  different 
departments  and  classes  of  the  Bible-school  in 
charge.  These  booths  represented  foreign  mis¬ 
sionary  work,  such  as  a  hospital  scene,  a  kinder¬ 
garten  scene,  native  preachers  in  an  evangelistic 


228  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

scene.  Others  showed  Indian  tepees,  lumber 
camps,  Ellis  Island  representations,  etc.  In  this 
way  the  members  of  the  church  got  a  good  idea  of 
the  whole  task  which  their  gifts  were  helping  to 
support. 

In  preparation  for  the  Every-member  Canvass, 
a  short  demonstration  before  the  canvassers, 
showing  how  it  is  to  be  done,  is  very  helpful.  Such 
a  demonstration  would  include  a  team  actually 
canvassing  in  a  home,  and  all  of  the  excuses  for 
not  giving  being  made  and  answered.  Many 
churches  now  use  a  missionary  bulletin  board,  new 
pictures,  facts,  letters  from  missionaries,  etc., 
being  posted  from  week  to  week  by  the  missionary 
committee.  If  originality  is  used,  no  church  will 
be  lacking  in  items  of  vital  interest  to  all. 

IF.  Work.  Some  one  has  said:  “Plan  your 
work,  and  work  your  plan.”  No  plans,  however 
good,  will  work  themselves.  The  plans  suggested 
above  will  take  hard  work.  They  will  take  many 
long  hours  of  careful  and  prayerful  planning,  but 
they  should  be  worked  at  as  persistently  as  the 
miner  digs  for  gold.  Remember  that  genius  is 
2  per  cent  inspiration  and  98  per  cent  hard  work. 

Queen  Victoria  had  invited  Paderewski  to  play 
in  her  presence,  and  when  he  had  finished  she  had 
complimented  him  upon  his  genius.  “Yes,  your 
Majesty,”  he  said,  “the  world  now  calls  me  a 
genius,  but  there  was  a  time  when  I  was  only  an 
ordinary  piano  player,  but  I  made  up  my  mind 
that  the  world  would  call  me  a  genius,  and  so  I 


Christian  and  Church's  Financial  Methods  229 

practiced,  your  Majesty;  I  practiced  hours,  I 
practiced  days,  I  practiced  weeks,  I  practiced 
months,  I  practiced  years,  and  finally  the  world 
calls  me  a  genius ;  but  before  I  was  a  genius,  I  was 
a  drudge.” 

“Be  not  weary  in  well-doing;  in  due  season  ye  shall  reap  if 
ye  faint  not.” 

X.  Xerxes  sat  high  on  his  throne  and  wept  at 
the  shortness  of  human  life.  The  Hellespont  was 
white  with  his  ships ;  the  plains  were  covered  with 
the  greatest  army  the  world  had  ever  seen.  “Why 
should  you  weep?”  his  uncle  asked.  “You,  who 
have  everything?”  “I  have  reckoned  up,”  said 
Xerxes,  “and  it  came  into  my  mind  to  feel  pity  at 
the  thought  of  how  brief  was  the  whole  life  of 
man,  seeing  that  of  these  multitudes,  not  one  will 
be  alive  when  a  hundred  years  have  gone  by.  ’ 9 

This  generation  of  Christians  must  evangelize 
this  generation  of  non-Christians,  or  the  task  will 
never  be  done.  Yesterday  is  gone ;  to-morrow  is 
before  us ;  we  have  only  to-day  in  which  to  do  our 
work.  The  only  way  we  can  influence  the  future 
is  by  doing  our  duty  now.  The  church  of  the  past 
handed  down  to  us  the  old  haphazard  non-Chris¬ 
tian  financial  plans.  These  must  be  forever 
“scrapped”  and  thrown  upon  the  junk  pile  of 
obsolete  and  antiquated  church  methods.  We 
have  it  in  our  power  to  inaugurate  now  this  scrip¬ 
tural  plan  which  is  new  to  many  churches.  We 
must  use  it  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  evangel- 


230  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

ization  of  the  world.  Burn  it  into  the  conscience 
of  the  whole  church  that  a  thousand  million  people 
are  now  living  who  have  never  named  the  name 
of  Christ,  and  that  “of  these  multitudes  not  one 
will  be  alive  when  a  hundred  years  have  gone  by.” 
“The  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work.” 

Y.  Yearly  Canvass  necessary.  The  canvass 
should  be  made  in  every  church  every  year.  Many 
churches  have  failed  because  they  felt  that  it  was 
unnecessary  to  repeat  the  canvass  so  frequently. 
There  are  many  reasons,  however,  why  the  can¬ 
vass  should  be  an  annual  affair. 

(1)  If  stewardship  has  been  properly  taught, 
many  will  be  ready  to  increase  their  giving  over 
the  previous  year.  Every  year  should  see  an 
increasing  number  who  come  up  to  the  10  per  cent 
basis. 

(2)  Many  members  of  the  church  have  their 
salaries  increased,  or  receive  larger  dividends  on 
investments.  They  should  be  given  the  opportu¬ 
nity  of  enlarging  their  gifts  accordingly. 

(3)  A  part  of  the  younger  people  of  the  church 
will  begin  to  have  incomes  of  their  own,  and 
should  be  canvassed  for  a  share  of  that  income  for 
the  church. 

(4)  All  new  members  who  have  been  received 
during  the  year  should  be  visited  for  their  pledges. 

(5)  It  is  a  good  habit  to  have  the  whole  church 
visited  at  least  once  a  year,  by  the  men  of  the 
church,  to  increase  fellowship  and  good-will 
among  all  the  members.  By  all  means  make  the 


Christian  and  Church* s  Financial  Methods  231 

Every-member  Canvass  an  annual  affair,  and  let 
it  be  done  more  thoroughly  each  succeeding  year. 

Zealous  for  the  glory  of  Zion.  Let  the 
dreamer  here  unfold  his  wings.  Let  him  prophesy 
what  might  come  to  pass  if  every  church  would 
carefully  organize  and  enlist  its  entire  member¬ 
ship  in  the  building  of  the  Kingdom.  Let  him 
dream  of  what  might  be  done  if  the  unused  power 
of  our  churches  could  be  harnessed  for  the  glory 
of  Zion.  Let  him  imagine  the  religious  awaken¬ 
ing  that  would  take  place  in  the  community  if 
every  church  member  were  “  zealous  of  good 
works.’  ’ 

The  local  congregation  would  thrill  and  throb 
with  a  new  spirit  of  life  and  power.  A  new  mes¬ 
sage  would  bum  in  the  heart  of  every  preacher. 
The  fires  of  evangelism  would  be  re-kindled.  The 
missionary  passion  of  the  apostolic  church  would 
move  mightily  upon  the  church  of  the  twentieth 
century.  Zion’s  walls  that  have  been  allowed  to 
crumble  through  indifference  and  neglect,  would 
be  rebuilt.  The  evangels  of  the  Cross  would  go 
out  even  unto  the  ends  of  the  world,  preaching  the 
glad  tidings  of  the  coming  of  the  King. 

Zinzendorf,  the  great  missionary  leader  of  the 
Moravian  Church,  put  both  his  fortune  and  his 
life  into  the  task.  A  consuming  zeal  flamed  ever 
in  his  heart  and  soul.  The  whole  church  caught 
the  contagion  of  his  missionary  passion.  At  one 
time  a  new  missionary  was  needed  for  Greenland. 
It  is  said  that  Zinzendorf  called  a  well-trained 


232  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

young  man  to  him  and  said:  “We  need  another 
man  for  Greenland ;  can  you  go  ?  If  so,  how  soon 
can  you  be  ready  to  start  ?”  The  young  man  re¬ 
plied:  “I  have  a  pair  of  boots  being  made  at  the 
shoemaker’s.  He  has  promised  to  have  them  done 
to-morrow.  If  my  boots  are  done  to-morrow,  I’ll 
start  to-morrow  for  Greenland.” 

When  this  spirit  moves  upon  the  church,  then 
and  only  then  may  we  expect  the  “new  Jerusalem 
to  come  down  out  of  Heaven  from  God”  and  dwell 
upon  the  earth.  Then  we  shall  see  the  vision 
which  John  saw  of  “a  great  multitude,  which  no 
man  could  number,  out  of  every  nation  and  of  all 
tribes  and  peoples  and  tongues,  standing  before 
the  Lamb,  arrayed  in  white  robes,  and  palms  in 
their  hands ;  and  they  cry  with  a  great  voice,  say¬ 
ing,  Salvation  unto  our  God  who  sitteth  on  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb;  and  all  the  angels 
.  .  .  saying  Blessing,  and  glory,  and  wisdom, 
and  thanksgiving,  and  honor,  and  power,  and 
might,  be  unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen.” 

DISCUSSION-  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  XII 

1.  Is  there  need  for  better  methods  in  church  finance?  Why? 

2.  Why  is  an  annual  deficit  an  unholy  thing? 

3.  What  is  the  Every-member  Canvass?  Has  it  been 
sufficiently  tried  to  prove  its  worth? 

4.  Review  the  Alphabet  of  Methods  and  suggestions  from 
A  to  E.  State  the  chief  point  of  emphasis  under  each. 

5.  Name  the  points  from  F  to  J,  memorizing  the  gist  of 
each  paragraph. 

6.  Give  from  memory  the  headlines  of  paragraphs  from 
K  to  N. 


Christian  and  Church's  Financial  Methods  233 


7.  Do  the  same  from  0  to  T. 

8.  Continue  from  U  to  Z. 

9.  Resolve  now  to  do  your  part  toward  a  thorough  organiza¬ 
tion  to  make  your  own  church's  financial  methods  more 
effective. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Agar,  F.  A.,  Modern  Money  Methods .  The  Judson  Press. 

Bishop  of  Oxford,  Introduction  to  Property ,  Its  Duties  and 
Rights.  The  Macmillan  Company. 

Calkins,  Harry  Reeves,  A  Man  and  His  Money.  The 
Methodist  Book  Concern. 

Cushman,  Ralph  S.,  The  New  Christian.  The  Interchurch 
Press. 

Cushman,  Ralph  S.,  The  Message  of  Stewardship.  The 
Abingdon  Press. 

Doughty,  W.  E.,  Efficiency  Points.  Missionary  Education 
Movement. 

Eddy,  Sherwood,  Everybody’s  World.  George  H.  Doran 
Company. 

Harrison,  Traverce,  Studies  in  Christian  Stewardship.  The 
Standard  Press. 

Ingalls,  W.  R.,  Wealth  and  Income  of  the  American  People. 
G.  H.  Merlin  Company. 

James,  William,  Talks  on  Psychology  and  Life’s  Ideals. 
Henry  Holt  &  Company 

Lansdell,  Henry,  The  Tithe  in  Scripture.  The  Society  for 
the  Publication  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

McConaughy,  David,  Money  the  Acid  Test.  The  Westminster 
Press. 

McGarrah,  Albert  F.,  Money  Talks.  Fleming  H.  Revell  & 
Company. 

McLean,  A.,  The  Primacy  of  the  Missionary.  Christian  Board 
of  Publication. 

Morrill,  Guy  L.,  You  and  Yours.  Fleming  H.  Revell  & 
Company. 

Morrill,  Guy  L.,  Life  as  a  Stewardship.  Hubbard  Press. 

National  Bureau  of  Economic  Research,  Income  in  the  United 
States.  Harcourt-Brace  &  Company. 

Poteat,  E.  M.,  The  Withered  Fig  Tree.  The  Judson  Press. 

Remsen,  Daniel  S.,  The  Preparation  and  Contest  of  Wills. 
Baker,  Yoorhis  &  Company. 

235 


236  The  Christian  and  His  Money  Problems 

Ross,  Edward  Alsworth,  Sin  and  Society.  Houghton  Mifflin 
Company. 

Wilson,  Franklin,  Wealth,  Its  Acquisition  amd  Use.  Ameri¬ 
can  Baptist  Publication  Society. 


Date  Due 

9  38 

Mr  28  W 

1 

:  OG  1 1  tfg 

^  A-  ?" 

)C 

i/‘  7T" 

- 

Our  i  g ; 

>nne 

'JUU 

wny 

f 

